Best Friends
by chipmouskin
Summary: Zack and Aerith have are best friends and always will be, simple as that. Of course, Zack never considered that they could be something more than just best friends...Zack/Aerith, AU, and flufftastic.
1. There's That Smile

**Chapter 1: There's That Smile**

_One gray morning, just staring at my food_

_Somebody smiled at me, looked pretty lonely too_

_Slowly picked up her tray and set it down next to mine_

"_Hey, what I'm about to say, don't laugh,_

_I knew it from the moment our eyes met._

_I've never seen a boy like you before,_

_You're different."_

**Everybody Else - _Different_**

* * *

><p>Most kids would have been sad to move. They didn't want to leave their school, didn't want to leave their friends, didn't want to abandon the familiar.<p>

Not Zack. He couldn't wait to get out of Gongaga. It was boring.

Granted, the jungle was a little exciting, to be sure, but his mom told him he wasn't allowed to play out there. She was scared monsters would attack him. So, he reasoned, he'd have to wait until he was older.

Maybe next year when he was eight.

But besides the jungle, there was no one his age to play with, and the school was non-existent. Instead of trying to home school Zack, his parents had decided to move to the city, where he could interact with other kids his own age. Not only that, the city was safer – less monsters to worry about, because Shinra had recently set up defense patrols to keep everyone safe.

That was how they had come to Midgar, with their scant belongings, and just enough money to afford a decent place above the plates. Most of the city was still under construction, but the upper half was considered swankier by far.

Today was the first day of school. Zack was practically bouncing off the walls, he was so excited. His mother was trying to brush his hair.

"Sit still, Zack," she said patiently as he squirmed under the brush. He leaned his head back, blue eyes wide, and grinned at his mom.

"But I'm soooo excited," he said. She smiled at this, amused.

"I couldn't tell."

"I am," Zack insisted. "I'm gonna make lots of friends, and I won't be bored like at our old house. I can have sleep overs, right? I want lots of friends to come over."

"Mmhmm, of course," his mother reassured him. Zack nearly jumped off the chair in jubilation. Today was going to be sooo great.

He kept his face pressed to the car window through the entire ride to school, eyes wide with amazement at the city. All the buildings were so tall!

"Here we are, kiddo," his dad said as the car came to a stop in front of the school, and Zack flung himself out of the car, gripping the arms of his backpack. "Do you want me to walk you up to your class?"

"No!" Zack shook his head. "I'm old enough. I can do it," he said, and then he took off, legs flying under him as he raced to the school. He glanced back at his mom and dad, standing by their car, and they waved to him. Zack grinned and waved back, then fell in line behind some other kids who looked to be his age. He looked at the other kids, trying to determine who his best friend was going to be. It was hard to tell, just looking. There were too many options!

When class started, the teacher took a moment to introduce him to the class.

"Everyone, this is our newest classmate, Zack Fair."

"Hiya!" Zack waved to the other kids. "It's Zack with a 'k', not with a 'h'," he informed them.

"You talk funny," one boy said loudly. Zack frowned.

"This is how everyone sounds in Gongaga."

There was a slew of giggling as he mentioned his hometown.

"That's a funny name!" a girl laughed. Zack frowned. The loudmouth boy and the giggling girl were off his list as best friend. Unless they had some _really good_ snacks at lunchtime.

"Thank you, Zack, you can take a seat." He did so, looking around for more potential best friends.

Zack didn't get the opportunity to talk to anyone in class, though. The teacher insisted on the children being quiet so they could listen and learn. Zack fidgeted most of the time. Who cared about some boring place called Shinra? He sure didn't. Plus, he already knew how to read small books, cause his mom used to make him sit down and read with her _all the time_. He could also add and subtract without help, except for sometimes, and then he used his fingers under the desk.

The teacher told him more than once that he'd have a lot to catch up on since he was starting later than everyone else, but all Zack really cared about was making new friends. Who needed math anyway?

Zack finally got his opportunity at lunch time. After going through the line, he stood, tray in hand, trying to decide which table to sit at. Most of them looked full, with kids who were all talking and laughing with one another. They all knew each other, and for a moment, Zack felt completely alone in the brand new school. He took a deep breath, shaking his head. He could do this.

His eyes froze on a girl sitting all by herself, staring down at her food and pushing it around with her fork. He wondered why nobody else was sitting with her. There was plenty of space at the table, after all. She looked up, feeling his stare, and blue eyes met green. He grinned, and she blinked as if she were stunned by the gesture.

He quickly made his way over to her table and set his tray down with a rattle. Around him, the cafeteria grew hushed momentarily before conversation buzzed around them again, and Zack got the distinct feeling they were talking about him.

"Hi, I'm Zack," he said to the girl, who still looked shocked that he was sitting next to her.

"...Aerith," she finally said, brushing her brown bangs out of her face. Most of her hair was pulled back into a small braid. "You're...you're the new boy, aren't you?" she asked slowly, like she was choosing her words very carefully. Or like she was scared of him. He didn't want her to be scared of him!

"Yeah," he answered, shoving a mouthful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. "Why are you sitting all alone?" he asked thickly through a mouthful of food.

She looked torn for a moment, like she was trying not to laugh, and then she answered again in her thoughtful way. "I don't really...have any friends here," was all she said, like it didn't matter much to her either way.

"Oh. Me neither. Cause I'm the new kid," he added, unnecessarily. "I just moved here from -"

"Gongaga, right?"

"How'd you know?" he asked, accidentally spraying her with a bit of bread he'd just bitten into. She wiped her face with a napkin, a small smile on her face.

"I'm in your class," she told him.

"Oh. I'm sorry," he said as he swallowed. "I didn't see you."

"That's okay. Most people don't," she admitted, a little sadly. Zack frowned. She seemed so lonely. It made him wonder again why she was all alone, and why she didn't have any friends. She seemed nice enough.

"Gongaga," she said, testing the word in her mouth. "That's across the ocean, isn't it? And it's warm, right?"

"Yeah. It's smaller than here. There's lots of jungle, too. Mom never let me play in there, but I bet I could take those monsters no problem," he said with confidence. Aerith's green eyes widened.

"Are there lots of monsters there?"

"Yup!" Zack answered with a smack of his lips. "Hey, how'd you know about Gongaga?"

"I like geography," she shrugged.

"You like school?" he asked, aghast. She smiled at this, nodding politely.

"Great. Then you can help me out," he said. "My teacher gave me a ton of homework." Zack made a face at this. "She said I need to 'catch up'. Blech."

Aerith was looking at him in surprise again. "You...you want me to help you?"

He nodded, grinning. "Why not? You said you don't have lots of friends, and neither do I. So we can be each other's friend, right? You can help me with my homework and, uh...what do you need help with?" he asked, trying to find out what would be a fair trade off.

"...Nothing," she mumbled, her face turning pink. She was looking away from him now.

"Oh. Well, you don't have to help me with my homework," he said quickly. "We can still be friends though, right?"

She was still quiet, and Zack worried that he'd scared her off somehow. Finally, she turned to him again and said, "Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you want to be _my _friend?"

"Well...why not?" he shot back.

She didn't seem to have an answer for this, she just shrugged. The bell rang then, telling them lunchtime was over.

"I'll find you at recess," Zack promised, determined to become friends with this girl. His mom told him he was perspiring that way. Or was it persistent? He couldn't remember. He turned around to say something to Aerith, but she was gone. Shrugging, he lined up with his other classmates to go back to class.

* * *

><p>True to his word, Zack did find her at recess. Aerith was a little confused, but she didn't say anything. He was new, so he didn't know <em>why<em> the other kids shunned her. Maybe she could keep it that way, she thought hopefully.

She was standing in the field on the playground when he found her.

"Hey," he said, the wind blowing his messy black hair. He just _looked _at her with the most intensely blue eyes she'd ever seen. He also had long eyelashes, she noted.

"Hi," she replied shyly, her stomach twisting up.

"So, what do you like to do at recess?" he asked, looking around at the other children playing on the monkeybars and at the basketball hoop.

"I..." she hesitated, mouth dry. "Mostly I just...think. By myself."

"Oh...sounds...ummm...boring," he admitted.

_This is it. He's going to walk away and play with someone else,_ she thought desperately, holding back a grimace.

"What about tag?" he asked. "Ever play that."

She shook her head, swallowing. He'd forgotten that _no one_ played with her. She didn't have any friends.

"What...what did you play at home?" she asked, hoping to keep him around for a little longer before he learned that she was boring and took off.

"Sometimes I fought off invisible monsters, or climbed a mountain, or played spy," he shrugged. "There weren't any kids to play with, so I just had to play alone." He kicked a rock in the grass, looking a little glum, but then he brightened up. "I heard tag is fun, though. Or hide and seek. Sometimes I played that at home with my mom. I was really good at hiding," he said proudly.

"There's no where to play hide and seek in the field," Aerith pointed out, tilting her head.

"Tag it is then," he said, followed by, "1,2,3 NOT IT!" before bolting away. Aerith blinked in confusion and watched him run off. He turned to see if she was following, stopping when he saw she was still standing there.

"You're supposed to chase me!" he bellowed.

So, feeling unsure of herself, she jogged after him, and he sprinted away again, a grin spread across his face. Realizing she was never going to catch up if she jogged, she picked up the pace, running full on, her white sundress flapping around her knees. Without realizing it, a grin came to her face as she ran after him, and it bloomed into a full blown smile as she finally tagged him. He paused, panting and beaming.

"So," he said, out of breath. "You _can_ smile!"

"Of course I can," she said, her smile slipping away as she said it.

"There it goes again," he said with a laugh. "You'd better run, cause now I'm it!" he said, and he lunged at her. With a squeal, Aerith darted away, then ran for it. She could hear the pounding of his feet behind her, and kenw she didn't stand a chance. He was too quick for her. In moments, he had grabbed her arm and yelled "YOU'RE IT!" at the top of his lungs.

She collapsed onto the grass with a giggle. "No fair, you're faster than me."

He plopped down next to her, shrugging and breathing heavily. "That was a short game."

"Sorry," Aerith apologized, twisting her dress up in her hands. He shrugged, like he didn't mind much.

"That's okay," he assured her. "We can think of something else to do."

She opened her mouth to suggest something when a sneering voice called out, and her mouth shut close again. She cringed internally.

"Hey new kid!" Zack looked up at the older boy coming their way. "Why're you playing with _her_?" he demanded.

_Oh no, please go away,_ she prayed. They would tell Zack all about how...weird she was, and then he'd never play with her again, and she'd go to eating lunch alone all over again.

"'Cause, I wanted to," Zack said with a confused look.

"She's a freak," the boy told Zack in a matter of fact manner.

"What do you mean?" Zack brows furrowed as he looked up at the boy, frowning slightly.

"She talks to flowers, and she spends all her time alone," the boy informed Zack. "She's a loner, and a weirdo."

_No, no, no._ Aerith despaired, and she bit her lip to keep from crying. Why did he have to tell Zack that? Why did he have to ruin it for her?

"So what?" Zack asked, and she opened her eyes in surprise. Zack was standing up now, fists clenched at his sides, looking angry.

"So you should pick your friends better, new kid. You can come play with us instead, and leave this freak to whatever it is she does. Flower-whispering," he said, wiggling his fingers in a mystical way, and his friends laughed behind him.

"What, you're going to stand up for her? Do you want to go talk to flowers too? You're a little girl!" the boy laughed. Aerith let out a cry as Zack snapped and lunged at the older boy, fists flying.

"You shut up about Aerith!" Zack spat out angrily, punctuating each word with a punch to the boy on any body part he could reach. The other boy got a few good hits in, too, Aerith saw, but then the fight was being broken up by a teacher, pulling Zack off the other boy.

"To the principal's office, both of you!" the teacher said sternly, scolding them both. Zack looked sullen as the teacher led him away, but he turned to look back at her, nose bleeding, and he grinned and waved at her.

Aerith didn't quite know what to do, so she just stood there, watching the only person who'd ever stood up for her (besides her mother) get taken away, probably to be expelled for fighting.

Life wasn't fair.

* * *

><p>Zack's mother was not happy to pick him up early from school. He fidgeted in the car, trying to stay out of the rear view mirror.<p>

"Zack Fair, I cannot believe you got into a fight on your first day of school!" she said.

"Sorry," he mumbled, gingerly touching the underside of his eye. It was tender, and he'd probably have a mark the next day.

"What in the world would possess you to do such a thing?" she demanded, and she caught his eye in the rear view mirror. Darn.

"He deserved it! He was making fun of Aerith," he pouted grumpily.

"Who's Aerith?" his mother asked in exasperation.

"My friend," he said simply, shrugging. "He was calling her a freak, so I hit him."

"Zack, we do not hit other people, even if they are being mean," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "We use our words."

"I hate words," Zack mumbled.

"What was that young man?" she asked sharply.

"I said next time I'll use my words," he said quickly, eyes widening. _I'll just write the words 'shut' and 'up' onto my fists. Then I'll show him my words,_ he thought angrily.

"You're lucky the principal didn't expel you and that you only got a suspension for the rest of the day."

"Yeah...hey, Mom, can Aerith come over later?"

"She may not, young man. You're grounded until the end of the week for getting into a fight."

"Awww," he groaned, shaking his head. Why was he being punished for doing the right thing? He would never understand grown ups.

* * *

><p>Aerith looked surprised to see him at school the next day.<p>

"You're still here?" she asked. "Oh! Your eye!" she exclaimed, and he grinned sheepishly.

"My first black eye," he told her. "Kinda cool."

"It's all my fault you got that," she said mournfully.

"What? No way, it was the jerk whateverhisface!"

"He was right though. I _am_ weird," she whispered, not meeting his eyes.

"So? Do you really talk to flowers?" he asked. She hesitated before nodding slowly. "Well, then you should ask them to attack those bullies," he suggested. She looked confused. "Yeah, yeah, just picture it. That'd show them! They tease you about flowers, but then you could turn them on all of the doubters. You could be all like, 'Take that bullies! Flowers of doom, attaaaaack!'" Zack followed this up with explosion noises for added effect.

"Why are the flowers exploding?" Aerith asked him, biting her lip as she tried not to smile.

"Why not? It sounds more fun that way." She giggled, shaking her head.

"You're funny, Zack."

"Thanks!" he said brightly, grinning. "So, my mom says you can't come over until after I'm done being grounded -" he made a face, sticking his tongue out and rolling his eyes. "- but then you can come over and play at my house. Hey, where do you live? I could go play at your house sometimes, too."

"I don't know," Aerith said quickly, her laughter dying away and an uncertain, nervous look stealing over. "I live...below the plate," she admitted.

"Woah! Cool. I've always wanted to explore down there."

"You only just moved here. How could you have always wanted to explore it?"

"Well, always since I saw it just yesterday," he shrugged again, waving away her question as though it were irrelevant. "I'm definitely gonna come over to your house. And I bet hide and seek would be so easy down there. There's lots of places to hide!"

Aerith smiled, but then she looked sad again. "Are you sure you want to be friends with me?" she asked him. "If you do, the other kids will tease you."

"Let them try!" he said confidently. "Look, I wrote words on my fists," he said, showing her.

"Why did you do that?"

"My mom said to use my words."

Aerith laughed again, and Zack held his hand out to her. "Come on, class is about to start," he said. She bit her lip, then slid her hand into his. It was warm and kind of sweaty, but it was the first time anyone her own age had held her hand, and she decided she liked it. It felt like friendship. She smiled at him.

"There's that smile," he whispered conspiratorially.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whaaaat. Whaaat? I know that is what you are all saying. Like, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? UPDATE YOUR OTHER STORIES." But I wanted something fluffy and cute without the doom of the world ending in it, so here's this. Don't hurt me. D: And if you'd like, I'll gladly take reviews. :) PLEASE?**


	2. Sleepover

**Chapter 2: Sleepover**

_Cause you and I could be the best of friends_

_Yeah you and I could be the best of friends _

_Cause no matter what I do, my heart beats for two_

_Always give my l-o-v-e-t-o-y-o-u_

**The Summer Set – _Love To You_**

* * *

><p>"Mom, can Aerith stay over tomorrow night, puhleeeease?" Zack begged his mother in the kitchen, tugging on her shirt.<p>

She looked down at him, considering. "Did you finish your homework?"

"I'll have Aerith help me," he said eagerly.

"You're supposed to do it yourself, Zack," she said, her mouth twitching.

"Pleeease, Mom," he pleaded. "'sides, I always do better when Aerith helps me," he explained.

"And why's that?"

Zack stood on his toes to get closer to his mother, and she leaned down as he whispered, "'Cause she gives me the answers."

At this, his mother stood up straight, shaking her head and holding back a laugh.

"Do your homework – by yourself – and she can come over."

"Woohoo!" Zack cheered, releasing his mom's shirt and he jumped around the kitchen. She sighed again, wondering how he always had so much energy.

"If you put more of that energy into your homework, you wouldn't need Aerith to help you."

"I like it when she helps me," Zack said breathlessly, still hopping around.

"How are you supposed to learn when all she does is tell you the right answer?"

"Cause I learn what's the wrong answer," Zack replied cheekily, grinning. "And, and, and -" he began, talking so quickly his mouth couldn't keep up with his brain.

"Slow down," his mom said, holding up a hand. Zack took a deep breath and tried again. "And I do learn. Aerith is smart, she teaches me. She telled me-"

"-told," his mom corrected.

"Right, she told me all about Modeoheim. It's all frozen and cold there, and you hafta keep moving or else you'll freeze to death!" Zack enthused. "So I told her I'd show her how to ride a bike with no hands," he said, settling down onto a kitchen chair. He tugged his backpack off the back of the chair and dug inside, pulling out a notebook and crayons.

"How do you know how to ride a bike with no hands?" she asked him, eyebrow raised.

"I just did it one day. I let go but I kept peddling and I didn't even fall. I can do it downhill now, too!"

"That's dangerous, Zack. What if you fall?"

"I won't, I'm really good," he assured his mom.

"Is that your homework?" she asked him, deciding to give up on the bike talk. Trying to talk Zack out of it would only want to make him do it more.

"Nope. I'm drawin' a picture."

"Homework, then you can draw," she said sternly.

"But," Zack started to complain, but he saw his mom had her I-mean-serious-business face, and he closed his mouth shut again. "Oookay," he sighed.

"Thank you," she said, then she kissed Zack on the head and ruffled his hair.

"Mom!" he complained.

She just laughed and told him to finish his homework.

* * *

><p>The teacher was talking about something called Cetra. Or the Ancients. Or Ancient Cetra. In any case, Zack was bored of it already. So, completely ignoring his teacher, he turned to Aerith, poking her in the side until she looked at him.<p>

"I'm trying to listen," she said, but she didn't look angry.

"They're probably all dead anyway," he sighed. He didn't know how Aerith could sit and listen. She made a face at him, but she was still leaning toward him to hear what he had to say.

"My mom says you can stay over tonight," he said, the excitement bubbling up in his chest until he thought he might burst.

"I-I don't know, Zack," Aerith whispered uncertainly. "My mom might not let me."

"Sure she will," Zack said without a doubt. Aerith still looked unconvinced. "My mom will talk to your mom and it'll be fine!" he said, growing louder.

"Zack, it's listening time!" the teacher said at his interruption, and Aerith jerked away from him guiltily, returning her undivided attention to the front of the class.

"Sorry, you were talking about old people, right?"

"The Cetra were not old people, they were an ancient race of nomads..."

Zack zoned out again. His teacher may have just been speaking gibberish. Actually, that might have been more interesting. He leaned toward Aerith again as the teacher turned back to the board.

"Psst," he hissed, nudging her again. She didn't look at him. He waited, then whispered her name. "Aeeeerith. Pssssssssst!" he hissed insistently, until her eyes finally flicked in his direction.

"You gotta come over," he said. "Look, I made a picture!" he dug through his desk, pulling out the picture he'd worked hard on the night before. There were two stick figures, one with crazy black hair, the other with brown, and they were surrounded by a blank background. The black haired stick figure was also holding something that looked to be an impossibly large sword. "It's us!" Zack said, showing Aerith the picture.

Aerith's full attention was on him now. "You drew us?" she asked.

"Yeah, look, we're in Modeoheim. That's why it's all white."

"We must be in a blizzard."

"Yeah. Anyway, that's what we're doing at my sleepover."

"We're going to Modeoheim?" she asked in confusion. "I don't think my mom will let me go there, either."

"You'll see," Zack promised.

* * *

><p>When the school day was over, Zack grabbed Aerith by the hand and tugged her along, practically dragging her to his parent's car.<p>

"Hi Mom!" Zack said loudly, waving with his free hand as he ran toward them, Aerith barely keeping up behind him. "Mom, Mom, this is Aerith!" he said, holding up her hand in his. "But we gotta go ask her mom if it's okay, so I said I'd take her home first."

"Oh? Are you driving?"

"Can I?" Zack asked in excitement. He'd seen his parents driving – it looked easy enough. His mom laughed.

"Maybe when you're a little older. Besides, I'm sure Aerith's mom is here to pick her up," she said. "Hello Aerith, it's nice to meet you."

Aerith waved back shyly, ducking her head so that her bangs covered her face.

"Where do you live?"

Aerith mumbled in response, scuffing her toes along the ground.

"Mom, she lives below the plates! Is that like living underground?" he asked inquisitively. "Are you going to become a mole person, Aerith? Like, will you go blind and have super hearing or something?"

"I don't think so," Aerith said, looking alarmed at the thought.

"Don't listen to Zack, honey, he's got wild ideas," his mom reassured Aerith, who looked relieved.

"Aerith?" a concerned voice called out, and Aerith turned swiftly, standing up on her toes to try and peer over the taller kids.

"I'm over here, Mom!" she called out, and then a tired looking woman made her way through the crowd of children and parents, smiling when she caught sight of Aerith.

"There you are, dear. Who's this?" she asked, but Zack didn't give her the chance to answer. "Hey! My name's Zack. I just moved here, but Aerith's my friend now, so can she come sleep at my house tonight? My mom already said she could, and we've got to go to Modeoheim tonight. Aerith taught me all about that place. People freeze to death there."

Aerith's mom looked bemused, and Zack's mom chuckled lightly, placing a hand on his head to stop him.

"You'll have to forgive my son. He didn't have any kids his own age to play with back home, so he's still rather excited about the idea of friends. We'd love to have Aerith over, though, if you don't mind."

Aerith looked at her mom with wide eyes, begging silently. She was still clinging to Zack's hand, who was swinging her arm back and forth with impatience.

"Oh, that'll be fine," Aerith's mom said finally, and Zack let out a whoop of victory. His and Aerith's mom started talking to each other, doing boring parent things while Zack beamed at Aerith.

"This is going to be so much fun," he said. Aerith nodded, smiling slightly.

"I've never been to someone else's house," she admitted.

"Well, mine will be the first and the best then!" Zack glanced up at his mom, then sighed loudly to let his impatience be known.

"Alright, Zack," his mom said, clucking her tongue at him. "Elmyra has to take Aerith home first to get her things."

Zack's face fell, but then he brightened again. "Okay! I'll get everything ready before you come over, Aerith."

"Get what ready?" she asked curiously.

"I told you, you'll see!" he told her mysteriously.

* * *

><p>The wind was fierce, only adding to the bitter cold of the air around them. Zack shielded his face against the storm, squinting back at Aerith. Even with their winter things on, the cold still snapped at them, trying its best to sap the warmth and strength from their bodies. Up ahead, a great mountain sat, barely visible in the growing blizzard.<p>

Zack had his sword on his back, for protection. Only a few miles back, he'd killed two horrible monsters who'd tried to eat Aerith. That was before this darned blizzard, though!

"We gotta find shelter!" Zack yelled back to Aerith. "The snow is going to bury us if we don't hurry!"

Aerith nodded, hair whipping in her face. "Or before a monster eats us!"

"That too," Zack agreed. "Keep an eye out for a cave, I'll scout ahead for monsters."

The wind howled, making the hairs on the back of Zack's neck stand up. He shivered, rubbing his arms, then shielded his eyes against the glare of the snow. It was impossible to see anything out here. It was a frozen wasteland, with nothing but white all around them.

Then, Zack felt a rumble in the ground; it was steadily growing louder. He looked up sharply, freezing in surprise.

"Oh no! An avalanche!" he yelled back to Aerith, barely diving out of the way as the snow rolled down the mountainside, obliterating the path he'd just been on, and separating him and Aerith.

"Aerith? Can you hear me?" he called out.

"Yes! There's too much snow between us. What are gonna do now?" her reply was faint, carrying oddly on the wind.

"I'm going to dig my way through," he shouted back, then began using his bare hands to tunnel through the snow. Finally, he could see Aerith on the other side. "Grab my hand!" he said, wiggling his fingers. She grasped him, and he tugged, pulling her through the snow tunnel until she was on the other side with him.

"That was a close one," Zack said, sighing in relief. "Are you okay to go on?"

"I-I think so," she nodded, teeth chattering. "We have to find somewhere warm...wait! I think I see a cave there! Look," she exclaimed, pointing off into the distance. Against the backdrop of white, Zack could see the barest smudge of black.

"I think you're right," he agreed, and then, hand in hand, they crunched through the snow, the black smudge growing larger until it was clear Aerith had been right – it was a cave!

"Quick, let's get in!" he said, but then he stopped, throwing his arm out in front of her. "Wait...I'd better check that there aren't any monsters in there. A nice warm cave is just the kind of place they'd stay." Aerith nodded, clamping her mouth shut so she wouldn't make any noise that might attract more monsters.

Zack crept carefully into the cave, holding his sword aloft, ready for anything that might pop out at him. After several minutes, he realized the cave was empty, and returned to the entrance and beckoned Aerith forward.

"It's safe!" he told her, and she hurried over to him and into the cave. It was warmer in the cave, but it was still cold.

"Hurry, we have to get together," he said, throwing his arms around her and pulling her close.

"Uh, Zack...w-what are you doing?" she asked, and Zack figured she was stammering with cold.

"I saw this on a show once. We gotta use our body heat to stay warm, or else we'll get frozed in our sleep."

"O-oh," she replied, and Zack continued to hold onto her.

"Hey, I think it's working," he said, loosening his grip on her and catching her face in his hands. "Your face is all warm and red now."

"Y-yeah, it must be working," she nodded, Zack's hands still on her cheeks.

"Your cheeks are getting even warmer! We must be getting too hot now," he said, and he sat back from her, releasing his grip.

"Oh, but we don't want to get too cold again. We should just s-sit close, right?" Aerith said quickly.

"Smart idea," Zack said, and they sat hip to hip in the cave. "I wonder how long this storm will take to pass before we can finally leave the cave."

Before Aerith could answer, though, a shadow loomed at the entrance of the cave, and Zack tensed next to her. "Shh...I think it's a monster..."

Then, Zack's mom poked her head in.

"Hey you two," she said with a smile.

"Mom! You're going to let the cold into the cave. We're going to freeze to death!" he complained, quickly grabbing Aerith to shield her from the 'cold'. They were both dressed in an odd assortment of winter clothes: mismatched gloves and boots, coats, scarves, and hats.

"Oh, I'm sorry," his mom apologized, humoring him. "But I've prepared your rations, and even brave explorers need dinner."

"Dinner!" Zack cheered, releasing Aerith once more and flying out of the 'cave', which was really a slew of blankets thrown across the couches and several kitchen chairs to make a fort. There was a pile of pillows by the couch, which had been the avalanche that had nearly crushed them, and Zack's sword was actually an empty paper towel tube.

Aerith sat in the fort, holding her red face. Zack's mom just smiled at her. "It's mac and cheese, adventurer."

"Thanks, Mrs. Fair," Aerith replied shyly. Aerith crawled out of the fort and hurried after Zack, who was busy mixing his mac and cheese with bits of corn, his winter clothes strewn on the kitchen floor. Aerith pulled off her hat and scarf slowly, neatly laying them on an empty chair.

"Thank you, Aerith. It's nice to see someone can pick up after themselves – as you can see, Zack throws his things everywhere," she said pointedly.

"You have to try this, Aerith, it's the best," Zack insisted, ignoring his mother and shoving his own bowl toward her.

Aerith stared down at the mac and cheese and corn, not eating.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked, frowning. "Don't you like mac and cheese? Or do you not like corn?"

"I...no, I like them. But...thanks for inviting me over, Zack," she said, and then she took a tentative bite.

"Well yeah, cause that's what friends do," Zack said, smirking. "It's good, right?"

Aerith nodded, giving him a close-mouthed grin. "Very," she said after she'd swallowed. Zack's mom placed another bowl in front of him, and Zack dug in with gusto.

"Told you," Zack crowed through a mouthful of mac and cheese.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Zack," his mom scolded him lightly.

"Sorry mom," he mumbled through his food, and Aerith giggled.

"Where should we go next?" Zack asked her expectantly.

"Maybe you should stay in the living room and watch a movie," his mother suggested. "I'll make you both some popcorn."

"Good idea, Mom," Zack grinned. The, to Aerith, "Next time you can choose where we go. You'll come over again, right?"

"Of course," Aerith said quickly, then ducked her head again. "If your parents want me to, I mean."

"You can come over anytime you like, Aerith. You're much better behaved than Zack is. Do you think your mom would mind trading you?" Aerith laughed and shook her head again.

"I think I'd miss my mom."

"Don't worry, we'd miss Zack, too," she laughed, ruffling Zack's hair. "Although, I wouldn't mind some peace and quiet."

Zack looked up at her and burped, then with a laugh, excused himself.

"See what I mean?" she asked Aerith, and a full on laugh escaped her.

"Okay, well, you can pick the movie then," Zack said. "But just not anything with princesses, kay?" he said, making a face.

* * *

><p>After the movie, when they both huddled up in their makeshift fort, Zack turned onto his side, resting his head on his hand.<p>

"Today was fun," he whispered, so his mom wouldn't shush him and tell him to go to sleep.

"It was the most fun ever," Aerith told him, grinning.

"Yeah," he yawned sleepily, blinking slowly. Aerith appeared to be dozing off, too.

"Hey Aerith?" he mumbled, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Yeah?"

"Let's make a promise that we'll always be friends, okay?" he said, yawning widely again. She opened up her eyes, staring at him.

"Alright."

"You gotta pinkie swear, though. It's the most binding, serious promise you can make," Zack told her, smothering down another yawn.

"How do you pinkie swear?" Aerith asked him, looking down at her hands. Zack reached over and wrapped his pinkie with Aerith's.

"Like this: I pinkie swear to always be Aerith's _best_ friend, forever!"

"Oh...okay...well, I pinkie swear to always be Zack's best friend forever, too."

"Cool," Zack grinned, his eyes fluttering shut. Just like that, he'd fallen asleep, and Aerith followed shortly after, their pinkies still linked.

When Aerith returned home the next day, she carefully pinned the picture Zack had drawn up on her wall, smoothing down the crinkled edges. Her first gift. Her mom came into her room, smiling softly.

"So, did you have fun?"

"The best," Aerith sighed.

"Good. I'm glad you've made a friend. He's...enthusiastic, though, isn't he?"

"I don't care, as long as he's my friend," she answered with a shrug.

"I know, dear. He's a very nice boy."

"He is," Aerith smiled. "The nicest I've ever met."

"And cute," her mom said with a knowing smile, and Aerith nodded again, blushing.

"And cute," she agreed. Zack was the cutest, nicest boy Aerith had ever met, and he's promised to be her best friend forever.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The Modeoheim scene was fun to write. Kids are so imaginative, you know? Mac and Cheese and corn is one of my personal favorites. The corn just adds a crunchy element. Haha. I hope you all enjoyed this second chapter. Can you believe I updated the next day? I can't. So leave a review, folks! I loooove them. And so does Zack. :)**


	3. Sick Day

**Chapter 3 – Sick Day**

_And if it takes a lifetime just to learn  
>I plan on skipping school<br>Because there's not a damn thing in this world  
>That can keep me away from you<em>

**Sing It Loud – _Here With You_**

* * *

><p>Aerith never missed school. She <em>liked<em> it, much to Zack's incredulity. Then again, probably the only reason he was passing was because of Aerith, so the fact that she never missed school was a good thing. In the four years Zack had known her, she'd never been late, or sick, or even remotely absent.

Except for the day when she wasn't there.

She was usually there before him, things already set up on her desk neatly, and more recently, Zack's own things would be out, too – a tattered looking notebook and a chewed on pencil. When she had started doing this, Zack was bewildered and asked her why.

"So hopefully you'll start taking your own notes, lazy," she'd told him with a grin.

"Your notes are always way more detailed than mine," he'd replied. "Besides, I like the way you put little lines through your sevens and your z's."

But she still put his notebook out for him everyday.

Except today. His desk was cleared off, and Aerith was missing. He'd sat in his chair, staring at the door, waiting for her to show up with some crazy story about why she was late. But she didn't show.

Zack tried to listen, he really did. But it was _wrong_. Aerith should have been sitting next to him, taking notes while he slacked off and passed non-related notes to Aerith instead. Then, she'd read them, smile, and roll her eyes at him.

He glanced over at the empty seat next to him and frowned. Where was she?

That's when Zack began to worry. What if she'd gotten into an accident on the way to school? Or what if some kids had picked on her again and she was crying somewhere, all alone? Even into the 5th grade, there were some kids who liked to tease her for spending all her spare time with flowers. Most kids had their lesson taught to them by Zack, but he couldn't do anything if he wasn't with Aerith.

_Or maybe she's just sick._

Yeah. That was it. She caught a cold, or something. She'd be fine.

…

Zack fidgeted in his seat, glancing up at the board. The teacher always wrote down the homework for the day, so overachievers like Aerith usually had it all done before the school day was even done. The teacher was going on and on about the essay they had to do about Shinra and the space program they were preparing to launch, which ordinarily would have interested Zack, but he couldn't concentrate with the empty space next to him.

He took out his notebook and hastily began to scribble down the day's assignments, knowing that even if he didn't care, Aerith would want to know.

"...Zack...Gaia to Zack? Are you listening?" his teacher asked, and Zack jerked guiltily, looking up.

"Sorry. I was writing down the homework for tonight."

The teacher stared at him in amazement. "Zack Fair, writing down homework? Have you suddenly become academically inclined?"

"Oh. No. I was writing it down for Aerith," he said, shrugging. The class erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Zack and Aerith, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g," one girl started to sing, and the rest of the class joining in. The teacher hushed the class down, and Zack wrinkled his nose. Most of his classmates were passed the age they thought the opposite gender had cooties, and thus, any friendships between a boy and a girl generally set everyone off in a chorus of the song.

He ignored them, like Aerith always told him to do. He and Aerith were _just friends_. Best friends.

Which was why Zack was going to bring her homework to her.

His opportunity came at lunch. Instead of waiting in the lunch line in the cafeteria, he excused himself to go to the restroom – because teachers were always watching like hawks! - then made a beeline for his classroom, slipping in quietly to grab his things. Backpack in hand, glancing shiftily around the empty room, he propped open one of the windows and dropped his backpack onto the ground, wriggling out after it.

Success! He scooped up his backpack and ran from the school until he hit the main streets, making sure to look both ways before crossing. He'd walked home with Aerith plenty of times, so he knew the way to her house like the back of his hand. He decided her house was the first place he should look, in case she really was just sick.

_I bet she'll be happy for some company,_ Zack thought with a grin. He was always so bored when he got sick.

If the school was closer to the center of the city, he'd have to take the train to get to the giant elevator that led to and from the slums. But the school was positioned so that children from both parts of the city had a fair chance to go. That was the only reason Aerith was able to go to school still.

His mom wouldn't be happy that he was skipping school or going to the slums by himself, but sometimes the rules had to be broken. At least, for important things.

He nodded to the tired looking guy getting off the elevator, who blinked at him but continued on. If there was anything Zack learned about the slums, it was to act like you belonged, and no one would bother you. Even if you were only eleven.

Zack exited the elevator with a hop, waving to the familiar faces of the people who ran the Wall Market shops.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" one of them called out, and Zack grinned.

"School field trip!" he fibbed. Of course, they might be wondering why he was by himself, but most people in the slums just let you get on with whatever you were doing. That's part of why Zack liked it so much. Everybody above the plates always wanted to know what you were doing, where you were doing it, all the time. Zack's feet followed the familiar beaten pathway between the weapon's shop and someone else's house that led back to where Aerith lived. Zack liked Aerith's house most of all. It was tucked away, sort of like a secret place, but it was undoubtedly the prettiest place below the slums. Aerith had planted flowers all over the place – actually, she's had Zack help her quite a bit, too. He never minded much, seeing as she was always such a good sport about the things _he _wanted to do.

Being careful to step around the flowers that were growing (because Aerith really hated that) he went straight up to the front door and knocked loudly, then waited.

…

Nothing. Not even Aerith's mom. He tried knocking again, louder. _Still nothing._ Feeling a little worried now, Zack decided he'd try Aerith's window before going off to search for her somewhere else. Skirting around to the side of the house, he picked up a few pebbles, then tossed them up to the window. They rapped against the pane before falling back to the ground. After he'd tossed all the pebbles in his hand, he'd nearly given up, when he finally saw movement up in her bedroom. He grinned as he saw her peering out the window, and waved.

* * *

><p>Aerith's throat scratched and hurt when she swallowed, and her eyelids felt heavy all the time, and her body was achy all over. She'd still tried to go to school, though. She <em>never <em>missed school. Her mom had made her stay home, though. Lying in bed, she was almost glad she was home. Staying awake in class would have been difficult, she'd decided sleepily.

Her mom still had to work, though, and so she'd left Aerith at home alone with a number she could call if she needed her, telling her to drink plenty of water, and more importantly, _not to answer the door for anyone._

So when she heard someone pounding at the door, Aerith just burrowed under the covers and didn't bother to answer it. The pounding finally stopped, much to Aerith's relief, but then she heard a faint tapping at her window. She slowly poked her head out of her blanket, peering over at the window. There it was again – a flash of something, followed by that tapping sound. Curious, Aerith slid out from her bed, padding across her carpet with bare feet to the window, looking down outside. It took her a few moments to process what she was seeing, and for a moment she thought she might be hallucinating.

But Zack was waving at her and grinning, shouting something up to her that she couldn't hear. She pried open her window and stuck her head out.

"Zack? What are you doing down there?" she called, her voice hoarse and croaky.

"Oh good! You're sick!" he said, scratching his head.

"You're glad I'm sick?"

"No, no! I just meant...I thought something else had happened to you, so I'm glad you're okay."

Aerith felt her face heat up. He'd been worried about her. He was sweet.

"Why didn't you answer the door?" he asked.

"Oh...sorry, Mom told me not to answer the door for anyone."

"...Alright. I'll just have to climb up then!"

She laughed wheezily. "Don't be silly. I'll open the door for _you_."

"Good, because it looks like a long climb up," he said with a laugh. Aerith pulled away from the window and closed it, absently running her hand through her hair. It was probably sticking up in odd places, and she must look horrible from being sick. She tried to brush her hair down with her fingers in a feeble attempt to look better, but knew she probably hadn't succeeded. She wasn't quite sure why it mattered, either, since Zack had seen her look less than perfect all the time.

Shaking her head, she hurried down the stairs, the exertion of getting up and moving making her head spin a little, but she made it to the door just fine. She unlocked the door and opened it, and Zack's beaming face was there, making the trip well worth the effort.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" she asked him.

"Oh wow, you do look sick!" he exclaimed, pushing past her into the house. Aerith patted at her hair again, frowning.

"Thanks," she said, unable to sound like she wasn't offended.

"Sorry," Zack apologized. "I brought you your homework. Which is why I'm not in school," he offered as an explanation.

"You could have brought it after school got out," she pointed out.

"I know...but school's boring without you, Aerith. I tried taking notes and I ended up doodling instead. Look – here's a giant behemoth attacking Shinra HQ," he said, digging through his backpack to pull out his battered notebook, flipping to the page. She smiled and laughed lightly, but the laughter turned into a fit of coughing. Zack dropped his notebook, looking concerned.

"You sound bad. Maybe you should go back to bed," he said.

"Yeah...probably," she agreed reluctantly. Even though she was tired, she didn't want him to leave now that he was here.

"I'll help you upstairs, kay?" he said, dropping her homework onto the table next to his backpack, then took her by the arm.

"Won't your mom be mad at you for skipping school?" Aerith asked as he led her up the stairs.

"Probably," he shrugged, unworried. She liked that about him – nothing bothered him. "Where's your mom?"

"She had to work," Aerith said with a cough. "I have her number if I have to call her, though."

"Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully, sitting down on her bed next to her. "Who's going to make you lunch then?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I'm not that hungry."

"You have to eat _something_. Look, stay up here, I'll make you something," he said. And before she could protest, he was gone, thumping down the stairs.

When he came back up, Aerith had snuggled under the covers once again to fight the chills that had crept up again. He had two sandwiches on a plate, along with two glasses of orange juice, one tucked in the crook of his elbow and pressed against his chest, the other in his left hand.

"Mom always says orange juice is good for you when you're sick. Lots of vitamin C...and uh...I just made PB and J. My mom also says I'm not allowed to cook on the stove...she thinks I'll burn something."

"Probably your whole house," she teased, taking the sandwich and juice from him.

"Yeah," Zack agreed with a laugh, sitting on the edge of her bed again and taking a bite of his own sandwich. She nibbled at hers, mostly to be polite, because her stomach was churning in disagreement.

"Is it okay?" he asked her, nodding to the sandwich.

"Yes. Thank you."

But by her third bite, her head was already drooping with exhaustion. Zack took the sandwich from her hand gently and set her juice on her nightstand.

"Thanks," she mumbled, eyelids shutting against her will. "Sorry...I'm just...tired."

"It's okay," Zack said, and as she laid back on her pillow, she felt him pull the covers up to her chin, tucking her in. "You can sleep, Aerith. Get better."

Aerith dozed, her hearing fading in and out in the way it does only when you're sick. She couldn't get her eyes to open or her muscles to move, but she could tell she was in between waking and sleeping. At one point, she heard her mother get home and come into her room, only to ask Zack what he was doing there.

Aerith would have opened her eyes in surprise if only she could. She hadn't known Zack was still there – she thought he'd left long ago...but then, she'd never heard the door open and close...

"Zack, what are you doing?" her mom asked.

"I brought Aerith her homework, Mrs. Gainsborough," he said politely.

"Why are you up here?"  
>"I was just...making sure she was okay...but you're home now, so I can go," he said, and she heard him getting up. She thought maybe he'd been sitting on the floor the whole time. Zack, the boy who couldn't sit still ever – had he really been there the whole time, watching her sleep? She tried to say goodbye to Zack, to thank him for watching after her, but her mouth wouldn't work properly and she just made a mumbling noise instead.<p>

Then she felt her mother's cool hand on her warm forehead and a soft sigh, and distantly, the front door opening and closing as Zack left.

* * *

><p>Zack's mom was not pleased at all when she'd gotten a call from the school saying Zack had gone missing, and she was even more furious to find out he'd left school to go visit Aerith. As punishment, he'd been grounded for a month, and to top it all off, he'd caught whatever Aerith had been sick with.<p>

So even though he wasn't allowed to play with Aerith while he was grounded, she still came over when she'd heard he was sick, feeling guilty. She hadn't skipped school, even though she'd kind of wanted to. She didn't want to be grounded and miss even more time away from Zack.

After getting permission from Mrs. Fair to visit Zack for a little bit, she walked up the stairs to his room, opening the door quietly. He was lying in his bed, tissues strewn around his bed and crumpled up on the floor. He looked up at her with glazed eyes, then smiled blearily.

"Hey," he said, his voice just as hoarse as hers had been.

"Sorry I got you sick," she said, scooting toward his bed slowly. "I brought your homework."

He groaned and rolled over onto his face, shaking his head into his pillow. "Dontwantit."

Aerith smiled, poking his shoulder. "I brought you something else, too," she said, and he rolled over half-way, peering at her hopefully.

"What?"

She held up a brown paper bag, grinning. "Goofballs, for when you're feeling better."

He smiled again. "You're the best."

She tried hard not to blush. "Well," she stammered, feeling a little awkward suddenly. "Your mom said I could only stay for a minute, so...I'll leave these in the kitchen, kay?"

"Alright," he snuffled miserably. "I'll see you later, Aerith. Thanks for the goofballs."

"And you're homework."

"Yeah...I guess for that, too," he said reluctantly. "I still don't want to do it."

She chuckled. "You'll have to do it by yourself one day. I won't always be around to do it for you."

He sat up, giving her a strange look. "Don't say that. We'll always be together. Best friends, remember?"

"Right," she said, her heart hammering. "Forever."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am on a roll! Chapter 3 is done! W00t. And don't go telling me that a kid Zack's age couldn't skip school. I won't hear it! I don't care about the probability of it happening, I'm writing purely for the fluff! REALITY CAN'T GET IN THE WAY OF FLUFF. So yeah...leave a review. :D Also, if you're wondering WTF goofballs are...they're a little dessert my family makes around Christmastime. They're big marshmallows coated in melted caramel and then rolled in peanuts. And they are delicious. YUM.**


	4. Snow

**Chapter 4: Snow**

_One day we'll grow up and be kids_

_Back then I'd live forever and grow old_

_I'd keep my friends warm when times got cold_

**The Cab: _We'll Grow Up And Be Kids_**

* * *

><p>Aerith could recall very few times that it snowed in Midgar; perhaps it was because of their location geographically. In any case, the last snow she could remember was before Zack had moved to the city, and as such, he'd never experienced snow. So when it snowed on her twelfth birthday, he dragged her above the plate for a snow day.<p>

"Can you believe they canceled school because of the snow?" Zack asked, grinning eagerly. "And on your birthday, too! It's like a birthday gift from the gods!"

He jumped with excitement while she tugged on her boots. He kept peering out the window of her house, like he was worried it might stop snowing. Not that any snow reached the slums. It was all above the plates.

"C'mon Aerith, what if it stops snowing?"

"It won't all disappear if it does," Aerith laughed, looking up at him.

He smiled sheepishly, scratching at the back of his neck. "I know, but I just wanna be up there when it's snowing. My _first _snow, Aerith!"

She smiled as he readjusted his hat and clapped his gloved hands together. He looked down at her impatiently.

"Keep your pants on, Fair," she said with mock sternness.

"Then hurry up, Gainsborough! You know, your last name doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Fair."

"Are you saying I should be Aerith Fair?" she shot back, then blushed at the implication.

He laughed, completely unfazed. "Can you imagine? Or me, Zack Gainsborough." He made a face and shook his head. "Man, that sounds weird." Aerith _could_ imagine, but she'd never admit it to Zack.

"Let's go," she changed the subject, grabbing his hand. "The snow's calling us."

Filled with the excitement of seeing snow for the first time, Zack practically dragged Aerith through all of the slums, and she did her best to keep up, laughing and out of breath.

The biggest difference between the slums and above the plates was the temperature. The slums were kind of muggy and warm, making their run through them a bit stifling in their winter clothes. Stepping above the plate was like getting shocked with frigid air, though. That, and everything was bright white. Well, mostly white, Aerith amended to herself. The streets were filled with a lot of gray snow, all slushy and gross.

"Come on, come on!" Zack cheered, hand grasping hers firmly. She couldn't help smiling at his exuberance. Her smile faltered when he started taking her toward the gate – the one leading out of the city.

"W-wait, Zack! What are you doing?"

"The best snow is outside the city!" he called back breathlessly. "Pure, untouched snow!"

Aerith pulled away from him, coming to a stop. Zack hesitated, frowning.

"There are...monsters," Aerith mumbled, uncertainty rooting her to the spot.

"They're probably all sleeping it's so cold," Zack said. "Please Aerith? We won't go too far...I promise." And he made his begging face, the one Aerith could _never_ say no to.

She relented. "Fine," she sighed, and he beamed at her. She followed him with some reluctance as he ran out the gate, whooping with joy. He threw himself into a pile of snow, waving his arms around. It was still flurrying lightly, the snow drifting down from above. Aerith froze, staring up at the sky. She'd seen the sky before, of course, but always within the city, where tall buildings reached up to try and touch it. Outside of Midgar, there was nothing but emptiness and the sky...and she felt like it was going to swallow her whole. Aerith swayed slightly, her stomach churning. She backed up until she was pressed tightly against the cold metal gate of Midgar, wanting to melt into it.

Zack was cheering and rolling around in the snow until he noticed that Aerith wasn't joining him. He sat up, snow covering his hat in clumps.

"Aerith? What's wrong? There aren't any monsters around."

"Um...I..." Aerith breathed unsteadily, unable to tear her eyes away from the gray sky. Her mouth had gone dry. It was ridiculous, being scared of the sky, but she couldn't speak, couldn't think, the feeling of fear was so strong in her gut.

And then Zack's face filled her vision, his blue eyes squinting at her in worry. "Aerith?"

The sky blocked from her view, she began to breathe easier again. She closed her eyes, breathing out slowly through her nose. "Sorry...just...the sky," she said hoarsely.

"Uh..." Zack sounded confused, and she opened her eyes slowly, peering around him uncertainly. It was still there, so big and...empty. It reminded her of how she felt before Zack moved to Midgar. Alone.

"I feel like I'm going to fall up into it, but I'll just keep going forever and ever," she admitted, knowing Zack wouldn't laugh.

"Huh," he said slowly, his face tilted up to look at the sky. "I never thought of it that way. It looks more like...freedom. Are you really scared?" he turned back to face her, brows furrowed.

"I..." she swallowed. Yes, she was scared, but it wasn't so bad with Zack next to her, reminding her that she wasn't alone. He wouldn't let her fall up into the sky. He kept her grounded. "I'm okay. Just..._don't go too far._"

"Alright," he chuckled. "But I'm pretty sure gravity works the same whether I'm around or not," he teased her gently. She wasn't going to tell him that she wasn't quite sure that was true. By all rights, gravity should have been the same no matter what, but it didn't explain why her heart always seemed to jump into her throat when he was near.

"You've got snow all over you," she said instead, brushing it off his coat.

"Yeah, you've got snowflakes in your hair," he laughed.

"But I don't look like I'm turning into a snowman," she retorted. He was caked in snow, from head to toe. "You are unbelievable."

"That's why you love me," he grinned, and Aerith fought down a blush. Instead, she shoved him into the snow and hoped he thought her cheeks were just flushed from the cold. He came up with a mouthful of snow.

"That was uncalled for!" And then he balled up a handful of snow and threw it at her. She stared at him in shock.

"Snowball fight!" he crowed and then he tossed another handful of snow her way.

"Oh...I'm going to get you, Zack!" she yelled and she dove after him, scooping up snow as she chased him, missing him with pitiful throws. He managed to hit her over his shoulder, without looking. She gasped as the snow slapped into her neck, sliding down her back. It was **cold**! She put on a burst of speed as she chased him. Zack wasn't used to running in the snow, and it made him a little clumsy, which was the only reason she was able to finally catch up, barreling into him and sending them both tumbling to the soft ground. Zack shook with wheezing laughter as he lay in the snow, his hat coming off.

She stuffed a mess of snow down his coat and he squirmed and yelled at the shock. "Aaggh, Aerith!"

"You got it down my coat, this is only fair!" she shouted over him. He pulled off his gloves, then put his cold fingers on her neck. She scrunched up, trying to escape the icy cold assault, laughing and pleading with him.

"I'm sorry!" she squealed. "Stop, stop, haha, oh my gosh, stop, Zack!"

"My hands are cold, Aerith!"

"Put your gloves back on you dork!" She finally succeeded in pushing his hands away, and he laughed triumphantly, then pulled his gloves back on. She smiled at him. He looked adorably disheveled as he shoved his hat back onto his head.

"Your hat is crooked," she said, reaching over and adjusting it so it was straight again. His hair was getting longer, she noted, and messier than ever. He sniffed and rubbed his nose, still grinning crookedly.

"This wasn't so bad, see? No monsters, no falling into the sky. Cold, though."

"Duh, snow's cold. Otherwise it'd just be water."

"Oh shush, smarty pants," he said, sticking his tongue out at her. Then he stood up, shaking the extra snow off him, and he reached down and pulled her up. "C'mon birthday girl, let's go back to my house. My mom will make us some hot chocolate if you ask."

"Why do I have to ask?" she laughed in exasperation.

"Because my mom _loves _you. Sometimes I think she likes you better than me."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're her son. She loves you no matter what."

"I know, I know," he said, waving his hand. "But I don't always get whatever I want. All you have to do is say, 'Mrs. Fair, would you be so kind as to make some hot chocolate for us, please? I'd really appreciate it,'" he mimicked her voice in a breathy way, and she rolled her eyes. "And then she'll be like, 'Oh of course, Aerith! You're so polite! I love you more than my son!'" He made his mother's voice even more high pitched, and Aerith laughed again at his ridiculousness.

"You're crazy." He shrugged, scratching his head through his hat, then he slung his arm around her shoulders. She smiled to herself and snuggled closer, enjoying the warmth and closeness.

"Besides, I still have to give you your present," he said. "Except it's kind of hard to compete with a snow day."

"What is it?" she asked excitedly. He tapped the side of his nose and shook his head.

"Can't tell you. You'll just have to wait and see!"

That didn't keep Aerith from guessing the whole way home, just to see if she could figure it out. Zack was a terrible liar, and she knew if she guessed right, he wouldn't be able to keep it from her. But the whole time, even though he looked amused, he never got that funny cross-eyed look he adopted when he was trying to keep a secret from her.

"You didn't get me socks, did you?" she asked warily. A belly laugh exploded from him and he shook his head.

"No, much better than socks," he promised as he opened his front door. "MOM! We're back!"

"Hi honey. It's good to see you, Aerith," his mom called down, poking her head out of the kitchen. "I baked some cookies for you both. And how's your birthday today?" Mrs. Fair asked Aerith, smiling fondly at her.

"It's good so far," Aerith said, shrugging off her winter coat. Zack had already dropped his onto the floor and was tugging off his boots.

"Zack, pick up your stuff, you slob," she teased, knowing his mother would tell him to pick it up if she didn't.

"Okay,_ Mom,_" he groaned, picking up his wet things. His mom laughed, holding her hands out to take their things.

"I'll set them by the heater to dry out," she said. Zack started to nudge Aerith now, and she sighed, shaking her head at him. He gave her a wide-eyed look and nodded stiffly. Rolling her eyes again, she sighed and relented again.

"Um, Mrs. Fair – could we have some hot chocolate?" she asked, and Zack grinned.

"Yeah Mom, you should make some," he encouraged. "It's Aerith's birthday after all."  
>"He put you up to it again, didn't he?" Mrs. Fair asked Aerith with a raised eyebrow and a dry laugh. She shook her head out of loyalty, but his mom seemed to know anyway.<p>

"Alright you two, take some cookies and I'll make you some hot chocolate. Marshmallows?"

"Yeah, I think I'll take mine half marshmallow, half hot chocolate," Zack said importantly.

"How about just enough to cover the top?" his mom negotiated, and after some serious thought, Zack agreed, then stuffed a cookie in his mouth. He snagged Aerith's hand as well as another cookie and dragged her out of the kitched, pulling her to the garage.

"Your present's in here," he said through a mouthful of crumbs.

"Don't you think I'm a little young to drive?" she smirked.

"Huh? Oh, ha ha. You're hilarious, you know. I didn't get you a car, silly. Come on!" And then he covered her eyes with his hands.

"If this is my present, I think I would have preferred socks," she joked.

"Hush," he scolded her, then led her further into the garage, walking slowly so she wouldn't fall. "Kay, now you can look." He pulled his hands away, and Aerith's eyes popped open. Lying on the garage floor was a pile of wood, what looked like wheels, and some paint.

"...I'm not sure what I'm looking at," she admitted.

"It's your gift. Well, kind of," he amended. "It's going to be a wagon for those flowers you like to grow in that church. I have to build it still, though...except Mom doesn't want me using a saw for some reason," he chortled.

She blinked at him, then at the pile on the ground, then back at him. His grin faded, and he started to look nervous.

"I uh, I wasn't really sure what to get you that you wanted or needed...so I just thought...if you don't like it I can try and get something else-_oof!_"

Aerith threw her arms around him in a lung-crushing hug.

"_Thank you!_" she gasped, then pulled away, beaming at him. "Really. It's the most...it's just...really, it's the best gift ever!"

Zack look surprised, then it slid away into a pleased smile. "Oh. Cool. That's what I was going for," he said, his former confidence returning. "So I thought we could work on it together, like a project or whatever. And then we can paint it when it's done. I wasn't sure what you'd want on it...personally, I think some flames would be pretty awesome. But you probably don't want racing flames on your flower wagon."

She laughed, shaking her head. He was such a silly boy sometimes! She glanced down at the parts again, excitement blooming up inside her. It really was a thoughtful present.

"You thought this up all by yourself, huh?" she asked, squinting at him.

"Of course!" he said, feigning hurt. "Only the best for my best friend," he assured her.

"Thanks," she said again, and then, feeling brave, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Her face burned as she pulled away, and Zack looked confused, and maybe (hopefully) a little bit happy. He opened his mouth to say something, but then his mom came in, holding two cups of gently steaming hot chocolate.

"Alright!" Zack cheered and cupped the mug in his hand, drinking eagerly and burning his mouth. "Ahh, hot!"

"It _is_ called hot chocolate, Zack," Aerith laughed, taking her mug with a thanks and blew on the hot liquid before taking a sip.

He frowned and poked the tip of his burnt tongue, then pretend glared at her. "Smarty pants."

She grinned cheekily at him then darted inside his house, giggling.

All in all, her best birthday to date.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I meant to update yesterday, but I hung out with my friend most of the day. Sorry! Hope the cuteness of this makes up for it. :D OH ZACK Y U NO SEE AERITH LUV YOU. Of course, he's 12. xD And as a boy, completely oblivious. Leave a review, yeah?**


	5. How To Make Boys See

**Chapter 5: How To Make Boys See**

_And I, I would honestly love you now_

_But I would lovingly let you down_

_Oh, I have the hardest time resisting you _

_And oh, if you, if you feel the same way_

_Then how can we be friends?_

**Cartel – _If I Fail_**

* * *

><p>Aerith waited patiently through the rest of twelve and thirteen for Zack to finally wake up and realize girls existed. When he was fourteen, he did, and it was like a punch to her stomach, because he didn't notice <em>her<em>. In fact, it felt like he noticed every girl _except_ for her. He still maintained a friendly relationship with her while trying to pursue other interests, and it left Aerith feeling miserable and hollow.

It got worse when she went to his house one morning, only to find he'd already left without her.

She let herself in, like she always did at the Fair house. Zack's mom looked surprised to see her.

"Aerith?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Fair," she said. "Is Zack still sleeping? That lazy bum."

"Uh...no, he's gone already...he didn't tell you...?"

Aerith's stomach seemed to twist up. "Um...no...tell me what?" she asked, trying to ignore the dread creeping up in her.

"He went to school with that other girl...what was her name...Melanie?"

_Wham!_ Punch one to her gut. She swallowed heavily, trying to hide a scowl. "I – uh...oh. No. He didn't tell me...I mean, I just...I forgot," she finished lamely, trying to ignore the way it felt like her heart was being squeezed dry.

"Oh sweetie," Mrs. Fair said sadly. "I'm sorry...boys are always stupid at this age, and it looks like my Zack's no exception."

"What do you mean?" Aerith asked, her voice sounding too high pitched to be casual. "Zack and I are just friends, Mrs. Fair. Just like he always says...to everyone," she added flatly. The bitterness was horrible in her mouth. It was worse, too, with his mom looking at her so sadly, full of sympathy. "No. It's fine. I'll just see him at school," she finished in a fake, cheerful voice. "I'll see you later."

"Bye sweetie," his mom said, and Aerith left hurriedly, her heart thumping in her chest. Each beat felt painful and made it hard to breathe.

Of _course_. Melanie Gardner, whom Zack had been going on and on about for weeks. Each time he'd talked about her, Aerith had drowned it out, unwilling to hear it. So in all likelihood, he'd told Aerith about walking _Melanie_ to school, and she just hadn't been listening.

She trudged to school alone for the first time in seven years, dreading the moment she'd have to see him standing with _her_. When she walked into school, her eyes automatically searched for him, against her better judgment, and she saw him, leaning up against his locker, smiling down at Melanie Gardner. She was laughing at something he'd said – because Zack was funny, Aerith already knew this – and _wham!_ Punch number two to her insides. She wished she could punch Melanie Gardner in the face.

Zack looked up and caught her eye, and then he smiled, the smile she hoped he'd always save just for her. "Aerith! Hey!" he waved at her, and her feet took her over to him against her will.

"Hi Aerith," Melanie said nicely, smiling kindly at her. Stupid cow. It was worse that she was so nice, because Aerith couldn't find a good reason to hate her – except that she was with Zack.

"Hi," she said, hoping she sounded carefree and nonchalant and not like her insides were crumbling. "How was your walk this morning?" she asked. Good, she didn't sound bitter about it. Just curious, like she really cared how Zack and Melanie stupid Gardner's walk went.

"Oh, it was nice," Melanie said, her cheeks flushing. Aerith resisted the urge to glare at her.

"Yeah, you were alright by yourself, right?" Zack asked, looking slightly concerned.

"It was fine," she shrugged, unwilling to tell him that she'd gone over to his house to meet him like normal. That was too embarrassing. "It was quite nice, you know," she lied. "Quiet."

Zack blinked at her. "Oh...alright then."

"Well, I have to get to class," Melanie said, leaning up to kiss Zack on the cheek. Jealousy, ugly and angry, reared up inside of Aerith and it took all she had not to shove Melanie into the lockers. Zack smiled at her as she walked away, waving goodbye.

"I didn't know you two were on kissing terms," Aerith said coolly, raising an eyebrow at him, even while everything in her wanted to break down and cry.

"Oh, well," Zack flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just asked her to be my, uh, girlfriend on the way here. But we haven't really kissed, y'know."

This news only made Aerith feel even more miserable. "Oh? Congratulations." That falsely cheery voice was back, and she hated it.

"Are...are you okay, Aerith? You look a bit pale," he said, peering down at her. She refused to look up at him – which she had to do all the time, now. He'd gotten so tall, and he'd started to work out more, saying he'd need it for sports, and his eyes had impossibly become even bluer. How did he really have no idea that he made her heart pound in her chest with every look or touch or even his goofy, ridiculous laugh?

For her part, Aerith still felt small and childish and completely flat-chested, so it was no wonder he'd asked Melanie Gardner out instead of her. She choked back a sob and shook her head, trying not to throw up. She felt sick.

"I'm fine," she managed, her voice croaky. "I've got to go to class, too," she said quickly, blinking rapidly as she fought down tears.

"Oh...alright," he said slowly. "I'll see you later, okay? You don't mind if Melanie sits with us at lunch, do you?"

_Yes I mind! _"No, that's fine," she said quietly, regaining control over herself. "See you then. Bye, Zack."

* * *

><p>Even though she'd had to suffer through lunch with Zack and Melanie, Aerith felt better after school, knowing she and Zack would be meeting to work on her flower wagon. It hadn't exactly been finished over the past two years, mostly because Zack's parents didn't trust him with sharp tools of any sort. Another part of it was that Zack had absolutely no experience building anything, so their time together working on the project usually ended up in fits of laughter at the pathetic excuse for a flower wagon they were making.<p>

Still, it was starting to come along, and Zack had promised to work on it with her today.

_Without Melanie Gardner,_ Aerith thought happily.

She waited for him after school, watching gloomily as Melanie gave Zack another kiss on the cheek and he blushed. "Come on, Zack," she muttered under her breath, feeling impatient.

She watched as he held up his finger and mouthed, "Be right back," before turning toward her and hurrying over.

"Hey, Melanie wants me to walk her home," he said quickly.

"Okay...what about the wagon?" she asked slowly, any happy feeling she might have had slipping away.

"Could we postpone it, please?" he asked quietly, begging with his eyes. "We can work on it tomorrow, I promise."

"You promised today," she muttered, feeling bitter and rejected. He opened his mouth, probably to apologize again, but she shook her head and held up her hand. "Just...just go, Zack," she said, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

"Aerith -"

"Have fun," she grumbled and walked away quickly, rubbing at her watery eyes. The worst part was that he didn't come after her.

She kept her tears at bay the whole way home, though. Any sign of weakness or vulnerability in the slums was an open invitation to get robbed. Not that she had anything worth taking, unless some thief was particularly eager for a heart full of grief.

She made it home in one piece, grief and heart still her own. Her mom was surprised to see her.

"What are you doing home already? I thought you and Zack were working on the wagon."

"No," Aerith said flatly. "He had to walk his girlfriend home. That cow Melanie Gardner."

"Aerith!" her mother reprimanded her sharply.

"Sorry," Aerith replied in a monotone, not feeling the slightest bit sorry for calling Melanie a cow. "She's just completely wrong for Zack!" she cried, throwing her hands up.

"Oh? And who _is_ right for Zack? Someone with brown hair and green eyes?" her mom asked.

_Yes,_ she agreed internally. "No," Aerith denied. "Just...not her. She's too skinny and popular...and...and..." Aerith stumbled, grasping for reasons. "She's got boobs!" she shouted. "That's probably the only reason he likes her."

"I see. Boobs. Teenage boys do tend to like those."

"Exactly," Aerith grumbled again, peering down at her own flat chest. Her mother drew her into a hug.

"My poor baby girl," she said, stroking Aerith's hair soothingly.

"He ditched me," Aerith moaned, huddling into her mom's side. "Why doesn't he notice _me_?" she lamented.

"Probably because he's always seen you as a friend. And because he's a boy."

"Or I'm ugly," Aerith said self-deprecatingly.

"Shush," her mother said sternly. "You're beautiful, and one day he'll realize it, too."

Aerith wished that 'one day' was today. "I've got homework," she said, wriggling free from her mom before she broke down and cried. She'd felt on the verge of cracking all day.

"Okay...just remember, there are plenty of fish in the sea," her mom said in comfort. Aerith didn't tell her mom that she thought it was a stupid saying.

She didn't want a fish. She wanted Zack.

* * *

><p><em>Tap. Tap<em>.

Aerith pulled her blankets up over her head. Stupid tapping.

_Tap! Tap!_ "Ugh," Aerith huffed, throwing her blankets off and glaring at the window. She blinked. It was Zack. A few years ago, Aerith had set up a crisscross support for her Morning Glories to grow on – Zack often used it as a ladder, much to her mom's chagrin. Sliding out of bed, she padded over to the window to open it up, nearly smiling at him before remembering that she was angry with him.

"What do you want?"

He climbed in, but sat on the edge of her windowsill, looking uncertain. "I came to apologize. I feel like a jerk for ditching you."  
>"You are a jerk," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.<p>

"I know," he made a face. "Which is why I gotta show you something," he said.

"Now?"

"Yeah, now. Let's go," he said, pointing to the window.

"Zack, it's after midnight," Aerith protested.

"Please," he said again, biting his lip. She really wanted to say no – that would teach him. But she was curious, too.

"Fine," she sighed. "But my mom won't be happy if she finds out I'm gone," she hissed.

"It won't take long," he promised. Sliding on her sandals and not bothering to change out of her pajamas, she followed Zack down, glad she'd chosen to wear pajama pants instead of her nightgown. As she neared the bottom, she jumped down with a quiet thump, and Zack took her hand, leading her to wherever it was they were going. She tried very hard to ignore how nice it was holding his hand. Reminding herself that he had a girlfriend now helped keep the fluttering out of her stomach.

Normally she would have chatted with him, but she was still feeling upset, so even though she let him keep a hold on her hand, she didn't say a word. He kept looking over at her guiltily, she noted with some satisfaction. As their footsteps traced a familiar path, she realized they were headed to the old church. She bit down a question, knowing Zack well enough to realize he wouldn't give anything away until they were already there.

He pushed open the heavy door to the church when they finally arrived and let her go inside first, finally dropping her hand. Her eyes landed on the large object in the middle of her carefully cultivated flowers.

"What's that?" she asked tightly. She knew what it was of course, just not why she was seeing it.

"I...I finished the wagon today. I just felt so bad that I didn't work on it with you, so I thought...I figured I could finish it up, that way I don't have to break plans with you again." He grinned hopefully at her, clearly thinking he'd done something wonderful.

She punched him in the chest.

"Ow! What was that for?" he complained, rubbing at the spot.

"You didn't do this for me," she said, lip quivering. "You did this so you don't have to feel guilty about running off with your _girlfriend_ anymore!" she poked him now, this time on the other side of his chest.

"What? No, come on, Aerith-"

"No! Don't you get it? You just...all you've done is..." She couldn't take it anymore. She finally cracked, and she burst into tears, sobbing into her hands.

"Wha-? No! Aerith, don't cry, Aerith, I'm sorry!" Zack apologized, his hands coming up to rest on her arms. "What did I do wrong?"

"You finished it so we don't have to spend time together anymore!" she wailed, trying ineffectually to pull herself away, but he tightened his grip on her.

"I wasn't trying to do that at all," he said, his voice low and urgent. "I just wanted to do something nice to make you feel better, honest!"

Aerith couldn't stop herself – she just cried harder, the pressure of trying to act okay with everything all day finally getting to her.

"Ah...Aerith, I'm sorry...I'm not really sure what I've done wrong," he admitted. "Please, just tell me what to do to fix this," he said, pulling her closer.

_Break up with Melanie. Pick me instead,_ her heart said, but she shook her head slowly, taking a shaky breath, her voice quavering. "N-nothing. I'm sorry...I just had a bad day...I'll be fine." She sniffed, wiping at her streaming eyes. She wanted to tell him how she felt, she did. But she was afraid of what might happen. What if he rejected her? What if he didn't want to be her friend anymore? The thought terrified her. Their friendship was all she really had. So she shut up.

"I...I didn't paint it yet. We can still paint it together. That'd be good, right?" Zack said, trying to fix the situation.

She sniffled again, nodding meekly. "Yeah. Okay." Now that she had finally stopped crying, she felt hollowed out, and so tired. He seemed happier to see that she was finished crying, too.

"So...we're okay, right?" he asked hesitantly, as if it might set her off again. She nodded, sure that her face was all blotchy from crying now. He was never going to realize that she was pretty if she kept crying over him.

"Yeah. Thanks for finishing it, Zack. I can finally put flowers in something now," she said, managing a weak smile.

"That's the spirit," he whispered, cuffing her lightly on the chin. Then he bit his lip – he was debating something, she could tell. "I – uh – I know I was a pretty crummy friend today, but...you're my best friend, and I wanted to talk to you about this."

Aerith stared up at him, wondering what he was talking about. Zack very rarely worried about anything. Whatever it was must have been big. And she was tired of being angry at him – it was exhausting, to be honest – so she nodded again. "What is it?"

He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "It's just that...Melanie's my girlfriend now."

"...I know." Aerith tried not to frown. Why exactly was he reminding her again?

"It's just that...what if she wants to kiss me? I mean, like, on the mouth? I've never kissed anyone before. What if I'm terrible?"

Aerith almost laughed. He was worried about kissing Melanie? What was she supposed to do about it? She sighed, staring down at her toes, wriggling them. But as his best friend, she was supposed to come up with something. She almost wished that he had a guy friend to talk to about this kind of stuff, because it was going to kill her.

"Well," she replied, her mind spinning while she tried to come up with something. "...You probably will be terrible," she said as she stalled.

"What?" he asked, aghast. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Sorry," she shrugged. "It's like...it's something new. You'll only get better with practice." Aerith shoved out the sudden images of Zack kissing many, many girls that were not her.

"Yeah, I guess," he sighed. "But...I don't want to be terrible," he mumbled.

"Well find someone to practice with," Aerith joked.

He sorted. "Yeah, that sounds easy," he scoffed.

That's when it clicked in Aerith's brain. It was a terrible idea that was only going to cause her heartache, she knew it, but before she could stop herself, she was blurting it from her mouth.

"You could practice with me."

Zack just stared at her, and she blushed furiously. _Stupid mouth! _

"But we're friends," Zack finally said, and Aerith smothered down the urge to scream or run away.

"I know," she answered slowly. "Just think of it as...a friend helping another friend."

"Friends don't kiss."

Aerith sighed in frustration. "Look, do you want practice or not? Otherwise, you can try it on your pillow," she said, wishing she could melt into the ground so Zack would stop staring at her like she was an alien.

"O-okay," he stammered, and to her surprise, his cheeks turned a little pink.

"What?" Aerith blurted again, unable to contain her shock. She'd never expected him to agree to her crazy idea!

"Alright. You can help me out." He was staring at her intently now, like he was really seeing her suddenly. Now she wished she'd worn something other than pj's, or that she'd brushed her hair a little bit. They were already standing close together from when he'd tried to comfort her, and her heart hammered in her chest as he shifted forward a bit, leaning toward her.

"I uh..." he hesitated. "But if I kiss you...won't it be like cheating on Melanie?" he asked.

Aerith frowned. "Well...it's just practice. It doesn't really count," she said, trying to convince him. Maybe he was right – he _shouldn't_ be kissing her if he was Melanie's boyfriend...but...Aerith felt she deserved to kiss him first so much more than the other girl.

"Right," he replied nervously. "What should I do with my hands?" he asked, lifting them up helplessly.

"How should I know?" she asked, having just wondered the same thing about her own.

"You're not any help at all," he said with a laugh, and she felt herself relax a little at his joking. She'd been feeling tense as the pressure had built up between them.

"Sorry...just...wing it, you're good at that," she shrugged, and he grinned at her.

"Okay. But I'm saying sorry in advance, in case I'm really bad and I turn you off of kissing forever," he said with another laugh, this one filled with a little nervousness. Then he leaned in hurriedly, and they smacked foreheads.

"Ow!" Aerith cried, grabbing her head and wincing up at him.

"Ack, sorry, sorry," Zack garbled. He rubbed at his own forehead, peering at her through one eye, looking embarrassed. "Should I try again?"

Aerith lowered her hand and nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was a little worried she might throw up from nervousness and excitement, and she was sure Zack would never _ever_ think of kissing her again if she threw up on him.

He leaned in more slowly this time, and Aerith's briefly wondered if she should keep her eyes open or if she should shut them. Would he think it was weird if she was just staring at him while he was kissing her? Probably. But she'd always liked how blue his eyes were, so she didn't think she'd mind staring into his. But he was closing his eyes, which made the idea moot anyway. There wasn't a whole lot interesting about his eyelids.

_Oh Gaia, he's about to kiss me!_ She realized with a start. Of course, she'd known it was happening, but somehow it wasn't made real to her until he was about a millimeter away from her. Then, his lips were on her mouth, and he was kissing her. She felt a little lightheaded, and stupid with her arms dangling by her sides, and nearly bursting with joy, all at the same time. His lips were kind of dry, but they were warmer than she would have thought, and then he was pulling away. She blinked at him, wondering if he could hear her heart about to fall right out of her chest.

"That was -" he started to say, but she grabbed his hands. She wouldn't be able to bear it if he said 'weird', so she interrupted.

"Let's try again," she suggested, and then she placed his hands on her waist and then wrapped her own around the back of his neck. "But like this." Aerith pulled him down before he could protest or try and back out, pressing her mouth to his for the second time. She didn't feel as gangly this time, as her arms weren't hanging by her sides with nothing to do. The kiss was feeling a bit stiff, though, she she moved her lips against his experimentally, and she felt his fingers tighten on her waist. Her lightheadedness grew until she thought maybe she might pass out, and she pulled away. Now it was Zack's turn to blink at her. He looked a little dazed. Also, it had not been terrible. It had been sort of nice...and wonderful.

"I-...you...that was..." he blinked again, shaking his head like he was clearing cobwebs. He appeared as flustered as she felt. "I mean. Thanks...for the practice," he added lamely, as if she wouldn't know what he was thanking her for.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly, wishing fervently that their moment wasn't ending. "You know me...just a friend helping a friend," she gibbered.

He let his hands drop away from her waist, and he scratched his head again. "Um...well, this probably makes you the best of all best friends, then," he said with an awkward laugh. "It's getting late, though, so, uh...thanks, Aerith. I-I'll help you paint tomorrow, okay?" And she watched as he stumbled out of the church.

"Bye," she whispered.

* * *

><p>There was no miraculous realization from Zack overnight that she was supposed to be the girl from him. He still met up with Melanie at school the next day, still sat and ate lunch with her – although he was extra careful to include Aerith, probably still thinking of how she'd cried the night before.<p>

But when Melanie leaned up to kiss Zack, Aerith watching with some trepidation, he moved ever so slightly, so that it landed right on his cheek, and she saw him glance over at her, sharing a half grin and shrugging. Aerith smiled to herself.

Melanie Gardner may have been Zack's first girlfriend, but she, Aerith, had ended up being Zack's first kiss. And it totally counted, practice or not.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I turned up the angst in this one, but somehow I still managed to end up half-way fluffy. XD Does this mean Zack is waking up to the realization that he might feel something for Aerith?**

…

**No, probably not. (: -cackle- This story has some more to be told yet. And it does involve some more angst. Haha. I be trollin'. U MAD BRO? :BBB PLEASE REVIEW. :DD Thanks lovelies. Mwah. :***


	6. Vacation

**Chapter 6: Vacation**

_You're like a song, a beautiful symphony to my eyes_

_So take me on, I wanna sing along all through the night_

_I'm not like the other boys, cause with you I've got no choice_

_You make me wanna lose my voice, I just wanna get you sideways_

_No, I'm not the type to lie, but I might just start tonight_

_Let me turn off all these lights_

_You know that you could be my favorite lullaby_

**The Cab – _La La_**

* * *

><p>"Can you believe it? Costa de Sol!" Zack smiled at Aerith, pumping his arms in excitement.<p>

"Yeah, that's exciting," Aerith replied distantly, focused on painting her flower wagon. It'd been a year since they'd painted it together, and Aerith said it needed a fresh coat. She was currently painting fiery little petals – a joke between them, since Aerith didn't want racing flames. It was kind of a compromise. Her tongue was poking out the corner of her mouth in concentration.

Zack scooped up the spare paintbrush and dabbed her cheek with orange. "It _is_ exciting."

Her gaze broke away from the wagon and she glared up at him. "Really? Was that necessary?"

"Yes," Zack insisted. "You aren't excited enough." She laughed lightly, brushing her hair back from her face. Her hair was getting long, and it curled up in spirals next to her cheeks, Zack noted. It was...pretty.

"I am excited for you. Really."

"You should be excited for both of us. You've gotta come with."

She peered up at him with her green eyes, making a face.

"Why not your girlfriend? What was her name this time?"

"Katie. And come on, I haven't had that many girlfriends."

She snorted. Okay. He'd had a few. For some reason, they broke up with him...frequently. Not because he was a jerk or lewd or anything – he'd asked. They told him he wasn't attentive enough. At least, not to them. Zack had no idea what they meant by that.

"Anyway, she broke up with me."

Aerith's face changed to an expression of sympathy. "What's that, the fifth time?"

Zack shrugged. They hadn't been serious anyway, and even though he was a little sad, it wasn't the end of the world.

"Yeah...but I'd want you to come anyway, girlfriend or no."

She raised a brow at him questioningly. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

He grinned. "Because..._when you're around, it's like an army's marching through my chest, and there's nothing I could do, I just gravitate towards you, you're pulling on me like the moon_," he sang, laughing as Aerith shook her head at him, waving her paintbrush.

"You're on another music kick, aren't you?" she asked, ignoring the fact that he'd just sung for her.

"Yes," he said, unashamedly, humming. "Come on, you know why. Those girls, they're just...temporary, I guess. For now. But you're my best friend. You're constant. So you've gotta come with, simple as that!"

Aerith sighed, setting her paintbrush down on top of her paint can and brushed down the wrinkles in her dress. She'd started wearing a lot of dresses lately. She used to dress in jeans and t-shirts, but now she preferred sundresses and long, flowing skirts. Zack knew there were lots of guys at school who'd noticed too. It bugged him, for some reason. Maybe it was because they'd always considered her to be a bit of a weirdo, but now they suddenly liked her. It seemed so fake.

"Zack," she began, a small frown on her face. "You know...you know we don't have a lot of money. I can't afford to go to Costa de Sol with you."

"Aerith, you know my parents wouldn't mind-"

"No! I don't want them to pay for me," she said, in full frowny-face-mode. "I'm not their kid. They shouldn't pay for me."

Zack sighed. "You're family and you know it."

"Just...no, Zack. Okay? I'm sorry, but...no."

Zack scowled, sitting down on the dirty floorboards, staring at the blooming flowers in the center of the church. Aerith really had done a good job with them. Of course, she was good at everything she tried. He hated the idea of going to Costa de Sol without his best friend. Picturing her all alone in Midgar while he was on vacation...it made his stomach twist up.

"Fine, then we'll raise the money for you to go," he said, refusing to let the idea go.

"How? We don't have jobs," she said, already back to painting the wagon.

"I'll come up with something," he said determinedly. He laid down, his head next to where Aerith was sitting, and he closed his eyes, going to his 'thinking place'. Aerith hummed quietly above him while she worked, and the sound soothed Zack until he almost felt like drifting off into a nap.

He'd caught Aerith singing a few times, when she worked with her flowers, but she didn't like to sing in front of people. She was embarrassed, for reasons Zack didn't understand. He thought she sang very well, but she refused to believe him. He liked to burst into song and try and coerce her into joining him, but she'd just shake her head and push him away.

He grinned, eyes still closed. Then he reprimanded himself for not coming up with a money-making idea. He'd gotten sidetracked. He got distracted a lot, though. He was forever getting in trouble for it at school, and it was why most people thought he never sat still. He did, just not where everybody else could see. He was high energy with others, but he was able to slow down with Aerith. She was always so calm and relaxing...sometimes he thought she mellowed him out a bit. In turn, he helped her have some fun instead of being serious all the time. Aerith could be a lot of fun when she just let herself loosen up a little. He smiled to himself again. That was why they made such good friends, even if nobody else could see why.

Aerith was singing softly under her breath now, but it was so quiet in the church that Zack could hear it.

"_What would you do if I told you that I la, la, la, la loved you, do if I said it tonight? What would you do if I told you that I la, la, la, la loved you..."_

_ "Cause you know that I la, la, la lie,_" Zack finished with a laugh, cracking an eye to look up at her. She scowled down at him.

"Thanks Zack, you got that song stuck in my head."

"No problem," he chuckled. He shut his eyes again as Aerith went back to humming and painting.

They came to the church a lot when they hung out. It was quiet, and nobody bothered them, and Aerith liked it because it was the prettiest thing in the slums. She put a lot of hard work into making the church look good, though, and even when she was covered with sweat and dirt, it made Zack think that _she_ was the prettiest thing in the slums. He knew if he told her, she'd likely shove him into a wall, so he kept it to himself. He still admired her for it, though. Zack would have to be blind not to notice that she was blossoming into a pretty girl. She was just a girl who was his best friend, too. That made things...a little tricky. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about Aerith. Of course he cared about her – they'd been friends forever – but he'd never really considered anything...more.

His thoughts drifted back to a year before, when they'd kissed in the church. He'd been surprised, and a little confused. Well, more than a little. A lot. Did that mean she..._liked_ him? But then, she'd said..."A friend helping a friend", so maybe it was nothing more than that. Besides, he wasn't really sure that he wanted it to be more. He was going in circles now. The point was, they made great friends, and what good was there in complicating matters? She'd helped him back then, plain and simple. Which was what he was supposed to be doing right now, he remembered with a jolt.

How were they going to raise enough gil for Aerith to go on vacation, too? There had to be something they were good at...

Zack opened his eyes and looked over to his right, staring at the flowers. Then he sat up so quickly that Aerith jumped.

"That's it!"

"What?" she asked in bewilderment.

"We'll sell flowers!" Not the most manly job, but Aerith had a knack for this sort of thing. And they did have a wagon, after all.

"What for?"

"To make gil, duh," he said, poking her in the arm. "We'll call it...Midgar Full of Flowers, Wallet Full of Money!"

Aerith laughed. "I didn't realize it had to have a name."

"It's like a mission," he shrugged.

"Hmm," she said, considering the idea. "Do you think it'll really work?"

"Of course! With your flowers, and my face selling them, we'll have a wallet full of money in no time!"

* * *

><p>Zack's idea had worked, of course. Aerith should have known – he nearly always got whatever he put his mind to. If only he'd apply himself more in school, she thought wryly. And of course, nearly every girl in school had willingly bought flowers from him, swooning as they did so. It was enough to make Aerith make gagging noises behind his back, to which he'd replied by crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out at her.<p>

"Very attractive," she teased. "So that's how you get all the girls."

She'd learned how to deal with her jealousy and the terrible swooping feeling in her stomach from seeing Zack flirt and date with other girls by using humor to deflect it. It worked, most of the time. He didn't make it easy, because he flirted with her, too, even if he didn't realize it. Flirting was just ingrained into Zack's personality. She reminded herself often that Zack only thought of her as a friend. At least she had that much going, and like he'd pointed out to her, she was constant in his life, where other girls flitted in and out like quickly dying stars.

"Har har," he laughed dryly. "I'm not the only one using my looks to sell flowers," he shot back.

"Whatever," she shook her head, although there _had_ been quite a few boys who'd eagerly purchased flowers from her.

In any case, with their combined efforts, they'd gotten enough money to send her on a trip with the Fairs. That was how she found herself sitting next to Zack on the plane while he pressed his face against the window, watching the clouds roll by. Aerith found she didn't like the sky much better when she was in it, so she'd gladly let Zack have the window seat. His parents were in the seats behind them, sleeping.

"I'll finally be able to get a tan," Zack said next to her, rolling up his sleeve to frown at his pale bicep. Aerith tried not to stare. Or just grab his muscle. That would make her seem a little weird. "_And_ I'm a free agent. I can scope out girls without feeling guilty!"

"How exciting," Aerith said without much enthusiasm. He nudged her side.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ditch you, I swear. I worked too hard to get you to come on this trip. But a little looking never hurt. Hey, you could look at some guys, too. I could, uh, be your wing man or something," he said with a laugh.

"What does that even mean?"

"You know, I talk you up and show guys that you're a real catch. And then you can be my wing man – er – wing girl! Tell girls how great I am."  
>Aerith rolled her eyes. "You do <em>not<em> need my help getting girls, Zack. You do perfectly fine on your own."

"Yeah, except the keep breaking up with me," he said with a half frown, scratching at his chin. "I have no idea what that's about."

"It's probably because you flirt with everything that moves," she told him, pushing down a stab of jealousy. Humor was the key.

"Not everything," he laughed. "I haven't tried flirting with the wind yet."

"You're a smart-ass," she snorted. He poked her in the side, and she squirmed. She was ticklish there.

"Don't," she said warningly, holding up her finger. As if that would stop him. He just wiggled his fingers at her threateningly, and she tensed up, ready to curl up to avoid being tickled. Then the plane sort of shuddered, and Aerith forgot about the imminent threat of tickling as she grabbed Zack's hand in a death grip, paling.

"Sorry about that folks, experiencing a little turbulence. Please remain seated and make sure you're buckled up, we should pass through this in a few minutes," the pilot said over the scratchy intercom, but Aerith continued to hold Zack's hand while she regained control of her hammering heart.

"It's okay," Zack said soothingly. He knew she'd never really gotten over her 'sky-thing' as they put it, and even though he teased her sometimes, he was always there to calm her down if she ever got scared. "Just turbulence, like the pilot said. Think about something else – like how great the beach is going to be," he said, his voice quiet and calming. She took a deep, slow breath, picturing the warm beach instead, the sun shining down on them, glaring off the ocean...Zack, shirtless while he tanned...helping her put sunblock on...

She blushed and opened her eyes, dispelling the sudden fantasy that had arisen in her mind. She cleared her throat and relaxed her grip on Zack's hand.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"No problem."

Zack dug through his carry on, pulling out his mp3 player and a bag of chips.

"Want some?"

"No thanks," Aerith declined, her stomach churning at the thought of eating. "I think I'll just nap till we get there."

"Alright," he said, munching on a chip as he put the earbuds in. She closed her eyes and leaned back, trying to get comfortable. She wasn't sure how Mr. and Mrs. Fair were sleeping, because the seats weren't comfy at all.

She shifted and sighed. She wished she had one of those neck pillow things. Zack nudged her again, and she glanced over at him. He'd pulled one earbud out and he grinned at her. "You can sleep on my shoulder if you want."

Aerith fought down a blush. This was why she couldn't get over him. Little things like this, where he'd do something nice without a second thought, and always with that smile that turned her whole body to jello.

Not that she wanted to say no.

"Thanks," she murmured, leaning against him, head on his shoulder. Completely unaware of how Aerith was feeling, Zack put his earbud back in and leaned his head back. Soon, Aerith dozed off.

When Zack shook her awake some time later, she had a crick in her neck, and she felt groggy.

"We're here," he said excitedly, peering out the window. It was considerably brighter than Aerith was used to, that much was sure. As they exited the plane, the heat hit them like a slap to the face, but Zack seemed to revel in it. He had been born in a hotter climate, of course. It felt a little oppressive to Aerith.

As soon as they'd left the small airport, Zack wasted no time in tugging his shirt up over his head, cheering.

"Yeah! Let the vacation begin."

Aerith's fingers twitched as she restrained herself from running her hands along his stomach like some sort of mad woman. That would have been mortifying, especially in front of his parents. He looked _good_ though, and it made her ache a little.

"You couldn't wait until we got to the hotel, Zack?" his dad asked with a laugh.

"No. I want to be as tan as possible when I get home," he replied.

"Zack, you'll get a sunburn more likely," she told him, shielding her eyes against the bright sun so she could stare shamelessly at him some more.

"Nah," Zack shrugged. "I'll be fine."

They stopped off at the hotel first to drop off their things and change for the beach. Zack knocked on her bathroom door loudly. "Come oooon, Aerith. Let's go!" She slipped out the door, feeling extra self conscious in her swimming suit, her towel wrapped tightly around her.

"Why are you hiding?" Zack chuckled at her. He'd changed into his swimming trunks, and he clearly didn't have any qualms about walking around shirtless. He had his towel slung over his shoulder casually, and he was looking down at her with amusement.

"I'm not," she insisted defensively, pulling the towel around her more tightly. "I'm just...protecting my skin."

"Before we go into the sun?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"You're crazy," Zack said, but then he snatched her hand and pulled her out the door. Sometimes she felt like she was forever running after him, literally and figuratively. As soon as they stepped out into the sun, Zack threw his face up to the sky, eyes closed, beaming.

"Ah! Feel that? That's the feeling of vacation."

"Really? It feels more like the sun cooking my skin," she said, holding onto her sunblock in one hand.

"The two are easily confused," Zack joked. They walked down to the beach, and Aerith was all too aware of Zack watching all the beautiful girls strolling by in two pieces. She suddenly wished she wasn't wearing a one piece, and that she had picked out something...sexier.

When they reached a relatively empty spot on the beach, Aerith laid her towel out and sat down on it, also aware that Zack was watching her. She felt horribly plain next to all the other people on the beach. When she started to put sunblock on, Zack flopped down next to her.

"You're putting sunblock on?" he asked incredulously. "What about getting a fantastic golden tan?"

"I think you're delusional. Skin this pale will just turn fantastically lobster red," she said, rubbing the white lotion on her shoulders and face.

He shook his head, sighing at her. "You should really put some on, too," she told him as she started on her legs.

"I told you, I'll be fine," he assured her with that grin of his.

"Okay, but don't come crying to me when you get burned." She reached her arms around awkwardly as she tried to get her back.

"Here," Zack said, holding out his hand for the bottle of sunblock. Aerith's heart flipped. Her mind couldn't help jumping back to her fantasy on the plane.

"O-okay," she choked out, handing him the bottle. He squirted it into his hands, then began to apply the lotion to her back. She buried her face into her knees so that he couldn't see her blushing, because no amount of will was going to keep this one off her face. She suppressed a shudder as his hands ran along her shoulder blades and spine. His hands froze suddenly, and she peered up in curiosity.

"What?"

"Hey...is that Cissnei?" he asked, squinting across the beach. Aerith lifted her head up the rest of the way, looking in the direction he was staring. "It is!" he said, and then he was calling Cissnei over. So much for that fantasy.

"Hi Zack. Hi Aerith," Cissnei said as she came over. "I didn't know you two were on vacation."

Aerith stared up at the younger girl. She'd always liked Cissnei, probably because she'd been one of the few girls not to chase after Zack like a hormone driven fool, or maybe because Cissnei had always been polite to her while others called her names behind her back. But now, staring up at Cissnei with her smooth skin and beautiful red hair, Aerith didn't like her very much, because she knew Zack was seeing the same thing that she was, and that Zack would undoubtedly like it.

"Yeah, I didn't know anyone we knew would be here either," Zack said. "You should join us, it'll be fun."

Aerith bit her lip so she wouldn't scream.

* * *

><p>Zack had felt a mixture of relief and regret when they finally landed, both for the same reason. He'd never realized how <em>good<em> Aerith smelled before, kind of like the flowers she was always working with. But with her head on his shoulder while she slept, the smell seemed to waft up and tickle his nostrils. So he was sad to have the wonderful scent go, but relieved at the same time, because it made him think very unfriendly thoughts. Not thoughts that were mean, exactly. In fact, it might be more accurate to say they were extra friendly, but they were thoughts suited toward girls who were not his best friend.

But it was exciting to be in Costa de Sol all the same. The heat felt good – he had spent the first seven years of his life in a similar place, and even though he couldn't remember much of Gongaga, the heat was familiar. His excitement was hampered somewhat by his insisting they drop their things off at the hotel. He supposed they couldn't just go leaping into the ocean fully clothed, though, so he relented.

He was a little disappointed to see Aerith in a one-piece, but then, he hadn't expected much different. That wasn't to say it looked bad on her. In fact, when she finally put her towel down, he had a hard time dragging his eyes away. In a way, it was almost more intriguing than all the girls walking by in nearly nothing. There was...mystery to it. Of course, he was still vaguely curious as to what Aerith would look like in a bikini.

_Shut up, hormones! She's your __**friend**_!

That didn't do much to quiet them, and they were definitely on high alert as he put sunblock on Aerith's back. He couldn't help noticing how smooth her skin was. He gulped quietly, eyes darting around for anything to distract him.

_Huh? Cissnei?_

Cissnei was a girl from school, a grade below him and Aerith. He'd seen her around a few times, just enough for him to know who she was. She was looking pretty good, though, if he said so himself. And she was the perfect distraction.

He waved her over, desperate for anything to stop his racing thoughts producing fantasies involving him and Aerith. "You should join us, it'll be fun," he found himself saying to her.

He was glad she agreed. This way, Zack wasn't ditching Aerith, but he wasn't all alone with her either. It was like his hormones had completely taken over! He knew he shouldn't have been thinking those things about her, and having Cissnei around helped distract him. Besides, she was a nice girl, and pretty to boot.

"Race you both to the water," Zack grinned mischievously. He sprang to his feet and bolted, soles burning on the hot sand, only to be cooled as he splashed into the oncoming water. He turned around. Aerith and Cissnei were just standing, watching him.

"Come on!" he waved them. "Or don't you know the definition of race?"

"It's not like we stood a chance, so why bother?" Aerith called cheekily as she walked over to him. Cissnei matched her slow, leisurely pace, giving Zack a great eyeful of two exemplary models of the female form. He decided he could have happily died then and there.

When they finally reached him, needing to let off some excess tension, he grabbed Aerith around the waist and began dragging her into the water.

"Zack! Stop!" she laughed, struggling against him.

"No way, you're going in!" he replied as she hit him feebly, trying to get him to let her go. She shrieked as he threw her out into the ocean, her cry ending abruptly as she submerged underwater. She came back up, spluttering, hair plastered to her face.

"I can't believe you!" she said, wiping water out of her face. Zack looked over at Cissnei, a wolfish grin splitting his face.

"Oh no. Don't even think about it," Cissnei said seriously. The petite girl hardly scared him, though, so he grabbed her and threw her in as well, laughing uproariously as he did. Both girls glared at him, and he shrugged at them. They shared a look, and then they attacked, using their combined strength to dunk his head under water. He laughed as he reemerged, and a vicious splash fight began. In the end, it was difficult to say who the victor was, and they were all exhausted.

Zack watched avidly as Cissnei and Aerith exited the water, droplets dripping from their hair and sliding down, the sunlight reflecting off their wet skin.

"This is going to be a great vacation," he said aloud, and they both grinned at him.

"Put your eyes back in your head, Fair," Aerith told him.

"What?" he asked innocently, but his smile gave him away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I started writing this, and I realized Zack wasn't as clueless as Aerith previously thought. Some of you may be frustrated with Zack, but at this point in time, Aerith's pretty much off limits. He doesn't want to sabotage their friendship, and can you blame him? All his other girlfriends keep breaking up with him. I wonder why...(:**

** Didn't get as many reviews for the last one, which makes me wonder if the number reviews is relative to the amount of fluff per chapter. Hahaha. This chapter is full of eye-candy. :9 Also, I'm on a music kick, which is why Zack is on one, too. He seems like the type to sing out loud, don't you think? **

** Leave a review if you would! Thanks again to everyone who already has, too. :3**


	7. Always Be There

**Chapter 7: Always Be There**

_So we take a step into the light,_

_ and I find the urge to fight for you_

_Cause I know, your colors seem to show _

_and I think that I can make them glow_

_It's safe to say that you need me in the end_

_So don't tell me you want to be my friend_

_I've been dying to tell you, I just want to tell you_

_I'm the one for you_

**Sing It Loud - _Only One_**

* * *

><p>It was no surprise to Aerith when Zack asked Cissnei out not long after the trip to Costa de Sol. What was surprising was that they were still together more than a year later. And although Aerith hated to admit it, they made a good couple. She had always thought that with Zack's casual girlfriends, she might have a chance one day, but Cissnei steadily erased that hope. Even though some days it hurt more than she cared to admit, Cissnei made Zack happy, and in the end, that's all she really wanted for Zack.<p>

With this in mind, Aerith decided it was finally time to stop mooning after him and to move on with her own life. Of course, she'd always be friends with Zack. But she was finally letting herself entertain the idea of going out with someone else.

Which was why she said yes when someone asked her out, instead of turning them down like usual.

It happened at lunch time. She was sitting with Zack and Cissnei, who were chatting about something – Aerith wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, to be honest – and then a shadow fell over Aerith. She glanced up to see the nervous looking Johnny staring at her.

"H-hey, Aerith," he stammered, his cheeks red.

"Hi, Johnny," she said kindly. Zack and Cissnei stopped mid-conversation to watch them.

"Uh, y-you look great today. Er. I mean. I just..." Johnny fidgeted, scratching the back of his head. "I was wondering if you wanted to...uh..." he glanced over at Zack, who was staring with his mouth half open, looking bewildered. "That is...would you like to go out with me tonight? Like on a date, not as friends..." Johnny blabbered.

"Sure," Aerith said, and Zack, who'd been taking a sip of his drink, actually spit it out, spraying the table.

"R-really?" Johnny asked, completely surprised.

"Yeah. I'd like that," Aerith said sincerely. Johnny was a nice enough guy, if a little nervous. It was kind of endearing, actually.

"W-wow! Great! I'll pick you up at, uh, seven, if that's okay."

"Alright," Aerith agreed, and Johnny tottered off, looking a bit like he'd just been hit over the head.

Zack was hastily wiping up his mess with his napkins, staring agog at Aerith. "You said yes to Johnny?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," Aerith said, feeling a bit defensive. What did Zack care? He'd been saying for ages that she should go out sometime. "He's nice."

"You're totally out of his league, though," Zack said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh?" Aerith rose a brow.

"Yeah."

Cissnei hit him on the back of the head. "That's so superficial, Zack."

"She's right, Zack," Aerith said, taking a bite of her sandwich. "I'm sure it'll be fun, no matter what league I'm in."

"Ha, I bet you 100 gil that you call me begging me to come pick you up!" he said with a grin.

Aerith scowled at him, eyes narrowed. Then: "Fine," she said, thrusting her hand out, and they shook on it. Aerith promised herself she would not give Zack the satisfaction of swooping in to save her on his motorcycle, even if the date was horrid.

In spite of her convictions, Aerith still felt the nervousness gnawing on her insides, gradually becoming more prominent as the school day wore on. It made it very difficult to focus in class, and her mind kept reproducing the image of Zack's incredulous face at lunch.

She frowned to herself. Was it really so hard to believe that she could get asked out on a date? Or was it the fact that she'd agreed that shocked Zack?

Or maybe (and she barely dared to entertain this line of thinking) he was a little bit jealous.

_He's got Cissnei, remember?_ She reminded herself. Still, it wasn't that illogical. For as long as they'd known each other, Zack had been the only boy in her life. Not to mention, he could fiercely protective of her because of all the times she'd been teased when they were younger.

Aerith sighed quietly to herself, staring down blankly at her poetry book. She loved the class, especially the poetry portion of their curriculum. It awed her to see how some people could produce words as easily as though they were born from their tongues. It was sometimes hard to imagine that there were people out there who could convey their emotions with such an economy of words.

"...Aerith?" her teacher's voice cut through her thoughts, jarring her back to reality. "Would you please read the poem on page 117?"

"Oh – yes, of course," she flushed guiltily at having been caught daydreaming. She cleared her throat and flipped to the page, eyes focusing on the words.

"_Before I go, let me peer,_

_ Into your caffeine eyes,_

_ Utterly addictive and sweet._

_ The memory of them keeps me_

_ Up at night; Without them_

_ I can't think through my_

_ Headaches and cravings._

_ As I am leaving, I'll press_

_ Goodbyes into your flesh -_

_ With fingers, leave ten small crescents,_

_ Moons that never shine or glow,_

_ Embedded in your skin._

_ For nights, even as they fade,_

_ You'll remember me._

_ Just as I'm leaving, flash me_

_ Your black hole smile, the one_

_ That always draws me back,_

_ Gravitational pull I can't resist._

_ I'll remember I can't leave,_

_ All of you is coursing through me._"

Aerith cleared her throat again, faintly embarrassed. She hated how dry her mouth always got when she had to read aloud.

"Excellent, thank you Aerith. Now, class, what do you think this poem means?"

The class was quiet while some pondered and others fidgeted and prayed they wouldn't get called on.

"Sounds like caffeine addiction," one guy said. "You know, like the writer's addicted to pop," he continued, and most of the class laughed.

Even the teacher chuckled. "An interesting theory...anyone else want to have a go?"

To Aerith's great surprise, it was Zack who spoke up. She'd been under the impression that he always slept during English.

"It's kind of like being addicted to a person...like, never getting enough of just looking into their eyes, and when you try to sleep at night, it's all you can think about, and it's even worse if you don't see that person...and just wanting to hold onto them so tightly and to leave a reminder of yourself behind so they won't forget you..." Zack slowed to a halt, flushing when he realized everyone was staring.

Aerith was staring, too, flabbergasted. His eyes met hers, and her heart lurched; then her mouth was open, and she was talking, finishing with her interpretation.

"And even when you try and leave, you're reminded why you're addicted, and you can't leave, because...because they're a part of you."

"Yeah," Zack breathed, and his eyes tore away, his flush darkening.

"Well," the teacher said, sounding as surprised as Aerith felt. "That was very insightful Zack – and Aerith. Thank you both," he said, looking bemused while several girls sighed dreamily, their eyes glued to Zack.

For the rest of class, Aerith wondered what had gotten into her best friend, and more to the point, why he'd been looking at _her_ when it came over him.

* * *

><p>Zack watched as Aerith hurried home to finish her homework and get ready for the date. He grimaced internally. Something just felt...off about Aerith going on a date with Johnny.<p>

"Can you believe it?" Zack asked Cissnei, snagging her hand.

"Believe what?" Cissnei asked.

"Aerith. And. Johnny. On a date! Together."

"What's so unbelievable about that?"

"Because it's Aerith. And _Johnny_," he said, placing extra emphasis on his name.

Cissnei laughed. "Aerith can go on a date, Zack. She's a pretty girl, and Johnny's a nice guy – even if he dresses a bit...eccentrically."

"I know Aerith's pretty," Zack blurted. "I have eyes! It's, uh, just the Johnny part that's weird."

"Oh, grow up, Zack. It's one date. You should be happy Aerith's getting out, you're always telling her she should. I bet after this, she's going to be a real heartbreaker."

Zack blinked down at Cissnei. Aerith, a heartbreaker? His mind was filled with visions of Aerith with numerous faceless boys, and his face twisted up into another grimace.

"I don't think I can wrap my mind around that."

Cissnei laughed again, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Well, you just watch," she said teasingly. "She'll be a knockout."

Zack laughed weakly. _A knockout?_

"I'll see you later for _our_ date, kay?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then," Zack replied, trying his best not to sound distracted. He gave her a quick kiss, then watched her walk off, red hair glinting in the sunlight.

_Aerith...a heartbreaker? A knockout?_

_ …_

_ With Johnny?_

_ …_

_?_

* * *

><p>"A date, hmm?" Aerith's mom asked, smirking.<p>

"Yes," Aerith replied, sighing internally. It seemed like her mom was more excited than her. "With a boy from school. Johnny."

"Johnny? What about Zack?"

Aerith tensed momentarily, then shrugged. "What about Zack? He's with Cissnei, remember?"

"Yes, but..." her mother sighed.

"I like Cissnei. I _do_, Mom. And so does Zack. If she...if she makes him happy, then I'm...I'm glad. I just want Zack to be happy in the end – even if it's not with me. So...a date with Johnny is happening tonight."

"I see...you're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Johnny? I barely know him, of course not," Aerith said with a wry smile.

"You know what I meant."

"Yes, I do."

"Yes you do know who I'm talking about, or yes you do love him?"

"...Yes."

"I asked you two questions," her mom said sternly.

"And I answered both," Aerith said with another shrug. Anybody could see that she loved Zack, so why was her mom asking? Well, anybody except for Zack, that is.

"Hmm...well, have a good time with Johnny, tonight, okay? And remember, it's just a date. It doesn't have to be anything serious."  
>"Thanks Mom, but I'll be fine," Aerith said with a laugh. "He's nice. I swear." She pulled on her pink jacket, doing her best not to fiddle with the ends nervously.<p>

When Johnny showed up (on time, she noted) he looked so anxious she worried he might pass out or throw up. Even though he'd greeted her somewhat shakily, he did neither (to her relief) and with a wave goodbye to her mom, she was off on her first date.

"You l-look really good, Aerith," Johnny blabbered.

"Thanks, Johnny...you look nice, too," she said. His hair was still gelled up ridiculously, and he'd put on a dark leather jacket, like he belonged in a gang or something. Then again, he lived in the slums – maybe he _did _belong in a gang. He just didn't seem like the sort, if Aerith was being truthful.

"So I thought, uh, we could go grab a bite, and uh, catch a movie in the Loveless district. Is-is that okay?" he stammered at her, his eyes darting to hers before darting away again.

"That sounds lovely," she assured him. He looked relieved.

"A-alright, cool. Cool." He hesitated, then grabbed her hand in his, which was a little sweatier than she was used to, and she smiled to herself. She had a feeling this date might end up with Johnny passing out from anxiety.

* * *

><p>Cissnei was munching on popcorn next to him, her eyes fixated on the movie in her living room. Zack had been staring at the screen, too, but for the life of him, he couldn't tell anyone what was going on. He was looking without really seeing.<p>

Cissnei gasped at something, nudging him. "Can you believe that just happened?"

"Huh? Yeah, no, didn't see it coming," he said quickly. What had just happened? He blinked and shook his head.

"You seem a little distracted," Cissnei said with a chuckle.

"I was just...wondering."

"What about?"

"How do you think it's going?" he asked, biting his lip. Cissnei gave him a long suffering sigh.

"Not this again, Zack. I'm sure they're fine."

"Yeah...but what if he tried to take her for sushi or something? Aerith doesn't like seafood. Or what if he tries to take her out of the city? She has this thing about the sky. What if she freaks out and I'm not there to calm her down?" he blurted.

"Aerith doesn't need you to protect her all the time," Cissnei said shortly. "Besides, why would Johnny take her out of the city? There's nothing to do out there."

"Maybe he's taking her to the chocobo farm. Maybe he's going to buy her a baby chocobo and they're going to raise it together!" Zack said, realizing how ridiculous it sounded even as the words came out of his mouth.

Cissnei paused the movie and turned toward him, resting her hand on top of his. "Why does this bother you so much?" she asked, one thin eyebrow raising up.

"I..." Zack sighed, shaking his head and shrugging. "I don't _know_. She's my best friend. I'm just...worried, kay? It's what I do."

Cissnei smiled, squeezing his hand. "It's part of why I like you, you know. But trust me, she'll be okay without you."

"Yeah. You're right. Aerith can take care of herself," Zack relented, then kissed the top of Cissnei's head. "Thanks for that."

She leaned into him, smirking. "No problem. Now can we finish the movie?"

"Sure, but I have no idea what's going on."

She laughed at him, her body shaking against his. "You're hopeless."

* * *

><p>Aerith was walking slowly with Johnny down the street after their movie had ended. The movie had been okay, she supposed – explosions and monster killing weren't really her thing. On the bright side, Johnny had relaxed some after he'd eaten, and even dare to sling his arm around her in the theater. Now, he was holding onto her hand, and he grinned over at her.<p>

"Come on, follow me," he said with a tug, leading her away from the main street and off into a side alley. The hair on the back of Aerith's neck prickled with unease.

"What're we doing?"

When they were fully submerged in the shadows, Johnny turned toward her, a hint of nervousness back in his face. He leaned down and gave her a hasty kiss, and Aerith blinked at him in surprise.

"You...wanted to kiss me in a dark alley?" she asked in confusion, and Johnny laughed lightly.

"I've never really kissed a girl. I was nervous," he said, drawing closer to her again. She unconsciously took a step backward, her back meeting the wall. Johnny's hands came up on either side of her, and he leaned into her again, lips crashing against hers unpleasantly. It was awkward and...it just felt wrong. Aerith tried to squirm away, but Johnny just pressed closer to her, their bodies smashed together.

Alarm jolted through her as she felt his hands on her body, beginning to wander in places she definitely didn't want him touching. She shoved him away, glaring at him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded sharply, wiping her mouth.

Johnny looked confused. "I-...I was just..._come on_," he said, shrugging. "You know what they say about slum girls...I thought you were the same," he said as casually as if he were observing the weather.

Aerith blinked at him uncomprehendingly. "What? What are you talking about, Johnny?"

Instead of answering, he stepped toward her again, clearly trying to steal another kiss, or perhaps even cop another feel. She pushed him away again.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" she asked angrily. Now he was beginning to look frustrated.

"Stop playing coy, Aerith. Everyone in school knows you give it up for Fair. Why don't you try being a little more generous?"

_Smack!_ Her slap against Johnny's face rang out through the darkness, and she looked up at him in fury and shock. "I do _not_ do anything with Zack. We are _friends_! And I am _not_ like the other slum girls, Johnny, I promise you that much."

"Whatever," Johnny snarled, rubbing his red cheek. "You're just...just a selfish bitch," he spat out.

"Get away from me!" Aerith shouted, and Johnny glanced around nervously, then darted off. When he disappeared, Aerith stumbled out of the alley, her heart beating wildly. She felt sick. She felt like crying. Fumbling for her phone, she sat down on the curb and called the only person she could.

* * *

><p>Zack and Cissnei had given up on the movie and were invested in each other instead. As Zack kissed Cissnei slowly, he gave a little start as his cell phone began to vibrate.<p>

_I'll just ignore it,_ he thought lazily, continuing his assault on his girlfriend's mouth. But the phone kept vibrating, and Zack realized someone was calling him.

"One minute," he mumbled, pulling away from Cissnei. He shoved his hand into his pocket and fished his phone out, glancing down at the screen. "Oh, hold on," he grinned. "It's Aerith. I bet her date went badly. That's 100 gil for me," he cheered. He flipped the phone open and answered it. "Hey, did it go badly?" he asked, chuckling.

"...Zack..." Aerith's voice came through on the other line, barely audible. "I...I know you're on your date with Cissnei...but could you...could you please come get me?" she asked, her voice hitching. She sounded close to tears, and Zack's playful grin slid off his face.

"Aerith? What's wrong? What happened?" he asked, his worry returning full force.

"I'm...I'm outside the Loveless district. Please...I just..." her voice cracked.

"I'm coming, just stay where you are," Zack said, snapping his phone shut, his body rushing with sudden adrenaline. "Sorry Cissnei, I have to go. Aerith needs me."

"What happened?" Cissnei asked, brushing her hair back.

"I don't know, she didn't say. She's in trouble, that's all I know. I gotta go."

Cissnei was biting her lip, a small frown on her face. "Wait. Just a second."

"Cissnei, I don't have time. Aerith's waiting for me."

Cissnei stood and sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. "She's always waiting for you, Zack," she said slowly. "And you're always rushing off to save her."

"Yeah...we're friends...what's wrong with that?"

Cissnei sighed again, staring hard at him. "If you leave...then...we have to break up."

"What?" Zack asked, his heart plummeting. "Why are you saying this, Cissnei? You _know_ I'm going to go get her."

Cissnei nodded, a sad look on her face. "I know. Believe me, I'm not doing this to be mean. And...and one day you'll understand why I did this."

"Just tell me now!" Zack said, an edge to his voice. He couldn't understand how _this_ was the time to be having this conversation.

"I wish I could. But it's really something you have to figure out on your own, okay?" she stepped into him, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm going to miss you, but this is for the best."

"Cissnei," he said sadly. "Please...don't...I don't understand."

"When you do, you'll thank me," she assured him, leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, then backed away, looking small and heartbroken. "Now, go save Aerith, okay?"

Part of him wanted to hesitate, to stop and make Cissnei reconsider. But then he remembered how broken Aerith sounded, and his decision was made.

"I'm sorry, for whatever I did to make you break up with me," he said heavily. "I really care about you, you know."

"Yeah," she nodded shortly. With one last look, Zack hurried out of her house and to his motorcycle, slamming the helmet onto his head. He revved the engine, then tore out of Cissnei's driveway, heading toward the Loveless district, which was practically the center of the city.

He'd had his motorcycle for maybe half a year. When he'd finally gotten his learner's permit, he'd decided that motorcycles were much cooler than cars, and he couldn't be convinced otherwise. Of course, it wasn't ideal in poor weather, but even that didn't dissuade Zack.

Now, he praised the fact that he had a bike instead of a car. It allowed him to weave in and out of traffic with ease, even though many people honked at him. He ignored them, going as fast as he dared in the city. When he finally made it to the Loveless district, Shinra HQ looming in close proximity, Zack slowed somewhat, pushing his visor up so he could better spot Aerith.

She saw him before he saw her, her head jerking up at the sound of his bike, and she stared at him as he slowed to a stop in front of her, yanking his helmet off.

"Aerith! What happened?" he asked hurriedly, jumping off his bike and crouching down next to her. She shook her head weakly, biting her lip. "Where's Johnny?" Zack asked, frowning.

"He...he ran off. I told him to go away," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"What did he do?" Zack asked slowly, dread sluicing through him.

"He kissed me...and he tried to...he said all the other slum girls did it...and he thought you and I..." she shook her head again, her words cutting off as a sob escaped her throat.

"He tried to touch you?" Zack asked angrily. "I'll kill that little bastard," he swore fiercely, standing up abruptly and staring into the darkness, as if Johnny would suddenly appear so he could pummel the little shit.

But Aerith was crying softly on the curb, and her soft sniffles and shaking drew some of Zack's ire away. He sat down heavily next to her, then cradled her in his arms, where she leaned into him, burying her face into his shirt.

"Shhh," he hushed her, stroking her hair. "Johnny's an idiot. Anyone could see you're not like those girls. You're...you're beautiful, and pure...and perfect. And he's a bastard. So don't you dare give him another thought, you hear me?"

She nodded against him, sniffling again, and then she drew back, looking miserable. Zack carefully brushed her tears away and wiped away a smudge of dirt on her face, and she rubbed at her nose, looking embarrassed, all while the furious anger sloshed around inside of him. How could Johnny _dare_ hurt her? Dare try to touch her? Even the idea that Johnny had kissed her made his blood boil, and he clenched his jaw.

"If he's not worth thinking about, he's not worth fighting either, Zack," she said quietly, turning her gaze to the street. He didn't agree with her, but he didn't say otherwise. "I'm sorry I messed up your date," Aerith said after a while.

"It's okay," he assured her. "I...Cissnei broke up with me, though."

"Oh! No...Zack, I'm so sorry," she said, looking contrite. "It's all my fault."

"No, don't think that," he said quickly. "It's not."

"But if I hadn't called...she's probably tired of you coming to help me all the time...I shouldn't have called."

He grasped her face, making her look at him so she could see he was serious. "Don't ever think that, Aerith. You can always call me. I'll _always be there_. I swear it."

After a moment's hesitation, she nodded with her face still in his hands. "Okay." He relinquished his grip, letting his hands drop down to his lap. "Do you...do you want to talk about it? Did she say why?"

"...No...and no...I don't really want to talk about it right now," he sighed. "How about I just get you home before your mom worries, okay?" he said, putting on a brave smile. He didn't want to think about Cissnei right now. He'd save it for later.

"Alright. I am sorry, Zack. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"You didn't. Come on," he said, helping her up easily, watching as she brushed dirt and gravel away from her dress. "He's stupid...and you look really good tonight, Aerith."

She stared at him, her eyes watery, and then she smiled at him. "Thanks, Zack."

* * *

><p>Despite Aerith's plea to leave Johnny alone, that didn't keep Zack from finding him after school the next day and throwing him up against the wall. Just seeing the weasel got his blood boiling again.<p>

"H-hey! What's the big idea?" Johnny wheezed as Zack held him up by the front of his shirt.

"Don't you _dare_ go near Aerith again. Don't look at her. Don't even think about her, or I swear, I'll beat the life out of you Johnny."

Johnny paled and squirmed ineffectually against the wall. "I promise! I won't!" he gasped out. Zack dropped Johnny, who crumpled to the ground, sniveling and rubbing his neck, looking like he was about to burst into tears or piss himself.

Zack felt the majority of his anger rush out of him at the pathetic sight. Aerith was right. He wasn't worth it.

"Get out of my sight," he said flatly. "I mean it."

Johnny crawled away before flailing to his feet and speeding away. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red.

"Cissnei," he said, startled to see her. The reminder that they'd broken up ached in his chest.

"I heard what he tried to do to Aerith," she said, scowling after the red-haired boy.

"Yeah...she really needed me last night."

"Zack, Aerith always needs you. Don't you see that?"

Zack just looked at Cissnei, trying to understand. "I'm not sure what you're trying to say to me."

"I know, Zack. But like I said...one day you will. Anyway...I have to go. It was good seeing you," she said, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, and then she walked away. He watched her go, feeling lost and hurt. He felt someone else slide up next to him, and a soft, warm hand slide into his.

"Are you okay?" Aerith asked him.

He looked down at her and gave her a sloppy grin. "Not right now. But I will be."

"Kay. Well...don't forget, I'm always going to be here for you, too."

This time a real smile split his face. "I didn't forget."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We're getting closer to the end here. :x Feel free to leave a review, peeps. I love you all! Also, special thanks to those few that stay up late talking to me when I'm at my craziest. It's a lot of fun for me. xD Also, that poem in mine, in case any of you were wondering. I realized I didn't credit myself after I posted this. S'all me. :3**


	8. Crack and Split

**Chapter 8 – Crack and Split**

_Taste the saline rolling down your cheekbone  
>Tell me that you're alone, tell me on the telephone<br>Feel your heart, it breaks within your chest now  
>Try to get some rest now, sleep's not coming easy for a while, child <em>

**Something Corporate –_ Down_**

* * *

><p>Zack had been acting oddly quiet, and Aerith couldn't quite figure out why. She supposed he was still feeling down about his breakup with Cissnei...except he seemed to be on good terms with her. It had been rocky the first few weeks, but they gradually transitioned into friends. Aerith could tell it was a little awkward between them at times, but there were no hard feelings.<p>

Maybe he was feeling down because he was girlfriend-less. Not that he hadn't had many offers. In fact, Zack had turned them down, and he wasn't flirting nearly as often.

Aerith was beginning to think he was sick.

She nudged his arms gently, trying to catch his attention. "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" he blinked. "Oh, yeah...great."

"I can tell," she said, laughing skeptically. "What's up with you? You keep zoning out."  
>"I just...I just have a lot on my mind. I'm good, though..."<p>

She hummed at him in disbelief, and he gave her a crooked smile, shrugging. But then his smile faded and he leaned back into the pew, crossing his arms behind his head, staring up at the hole in the roof.

"Remember when I fell and made that?" he asked, sounding oddly wistful about it.

"How could I forget it? You could have killed yourself."

"Hey, I was trying to fix the roof."

"And look what we have to show for it – an even large hole than what we started with," she teased.

"And a funny memory," Zack pointed out.

"It wasn't funny. I thought you were seriously hurt."

"Just a little winded."

"Not to mention a little crazy – you thought I was an angel and that you were some kind of superhero. Then you tried to leap to your feet and you ended up rolling around on the floor like a turtle on it's back."

"See? Funny," he said with a soft laugh. He gave a little groan, then stood up, shouldering his backpack. "I've gotta go – uh, homework and stuff."

"You, Zack Fair, going home to do homework?" Aerith asked in shock. "Zack, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm okay," he said, his face twitching a little and his eyes nearly crossing. He was lying. "I'll see you later, Aerith," he said hurriedly, before dashing out of the church.

Something was wrong, and Aerith was going to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

><p>Though it was still hours away from sunset when Aerith left for Zack's house, the sky was dark with storm clouds, and thunder rumbled overhead. Maybe it was an omen. Still, it hadn't started raining yet, and Aerith saw that as a good sign.<p>

Her feet padded along the same sidewalk she'd walked to Zack's house for more years than she could remember. What was it now – almost ten years? She smiled to herself as she tugged her jacket closed. She couldn't imagine what the past ten years would have been like if Zack wasn't around.

She didn't bother knocking when she arrived at his house – Zack's mom had long ago broken her of that habit, insisting that Aerith was always welcome.

The sight that greeted her was unfamiliar, and confusion rushed through her. Mrs. Fair looked up from a box she was packing.

"Hello, Aerith. I didn't except to see you tonight."

"Hi..." Aerith said slowly. "What's with all the boxes?"

"Aerith!" Zack appeared, looking surprised to see her, too.

"Zack?" she asked uncertainly as he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, then tugged at his locks with a frustrated noise.

"I'll be back in a bit, Mom," he said, his voice low. Then he reached forward and grabbed Aerith's hand. "Come on, I'll explain outside."

Zack lead her out of his house urgently, and then further, outside of the city until they reached the wall separating Midgar from the rest of the world. Zack's face was dark with indecision and anxiety.

Aerith had remained silent the whole way, but now she felt she had to say something.

"What's going on, Zack?" He dropped her hand and sighed again, starting to pace alongside the wall. "Why were there all those boxes in your house?" she persisted. Still, he remained silent, pacing more quickly. "Zack!" she cried, stepping in front of him and grabbing his arms. "Please, talk to me!"

He finally looked at her, his eyes more sad than she could ever remember seeing them, even when his parents had denied him a puppy when he was ten.

"I'm moving." His voice was so quiet, she could barely hear him over the rumble of thunder.

"What? You're..."

"Moving. Away," he added, completely hollow.

They sky cracked and split, and it began to pour.

* * *

><p><em><strong>2 Days Earlier<strong>_

"Zack, honey, why don't you sit down so we can have a talk?"

"If this is about my math class, I'm telling you, I don't think I'll ever need to find the hypotenuse of a triangle in real life. All that stuff about using math everyday- I think the teachers were lying. I mean, look at cursive. They said we'd use that for the rest of our lives, but once you get to high school, they're all, 'Please print,' or 'Type up this paper!' No cursive at all! And -"

"Zack!" his dad interrupted. "This isn't about math. Or cursive."

"Oh. Uh, kay, what is it then?" Zack asked, sitting on the couch hesitantly. If both his parents wanted to have a chat, it must have been serious.

"Well, we're going to be moving, son," his dad said cautiously.

"Oh. To another part of Midgar? Uptown, or are we going to have to slum it?" Zack grinned.

"No, Zack, you misunderstand. We're moving _out_ of Midgar."

"W-what? Why?" Zack swallowed, frowning in confusion.

"Your father's job," his mom explained. "We're being transferred to Nibelheim."

"Nibelheim! That's across the world! We can't move across the world. It's my last year of high school, and...and...what about Aerith? She needs me here to protect her from jerks like Johnny!"

"Zack," his mom implored softly.

"No!" Zack cut her off. He shook his head, feeling panic well up inside him.

"We're sorry, son," his dad said. "I know how hard this will be. If we had a choice, we'd stay, but we can't. We need this money to live."

"We don't! We could live in the slums like Aerith and her mom. I'll sell my motorcycle, get a job..." he rambled desperately, but the expressions on his parent's faces were killing his hopes.

"We've already agreed to the move. We're sorry," his dad apologized again.

Injustice coursed through Zack, and he stood up angrily.

"This sucks! I hate this!" Unable to bear looking at his parent's sympathetic faces or hearing their feeble explanations anymore, he ran out of the house, and kept running until he couldn't breath anymore. He slid down to the ground and slumped forward, his muscles like jelly, his heart trying to burst from his ribcage. No matter how hard he ran, he couldn't escape his new fate. He was _leaving_. The idea festered at him like a sore. How was he going to tell Aerith? He cradled his phone in his hand, then flipped it open, his thumb hovering over the keys, ready to call her...but...

He shut his phone with a click and shoved it back into his pocket, gritting his teeth.

None of this was fair.

* * *

><p>"I didn't want to ruin the last days we had together," Zack told her glumly, his hair plastered to his face as the rain continued to fall around them.<p>

"Days?" Aerith choked. "When are you moving?"

He looked down at his feet, looking miserable. "Tomorrow night. Shinra's paying for everything, too. I guess they really want my dad up in Nibelheim," he said with a scoffing laugh.

"What? When were you going to tell me?" she asked him accusingly. She didn't know why she was getting angry at him for; she knew he didn't want to move. It wasn't his choice.

"Tomorrow, I was going to...I swear. I just...I didn't want to see you looking at me like you're looking at me now," he whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"You look like I just punched you or something...I don't want to leave, you know I don't!"

"I know..." Her heart was thudding in her chest, each beat a painful reminder that she had to breathe, and somehow keep on living _without _Zack in her life. She tried to cheer up, to cheer Zack up.

"So...Nibelheim. I'm sure it will be pretty up there. It might be colder...lots of mountains."

"It's going to suck," Zack grumbled. "This is stupid."

"You'll make the best of it," Aerith said, trying to smile and failing miserably. "You always do."

"I don't want to make the best of it!" he yelled, grabbing his head in his hands. "I want to stay here, with you! That's what best friends do! They stay together, no matter what. Don't you remember? We pinky swore!"

"Of course I remember," she said sadly, any attempt at cheering either of them up crumbling away with his anger and his desperation. "I don't want you to move either," she said, fighting back the sob that was clawing at her throat.

"How am I supposed to be your best friend when I'm moving all away across the planet?" he asked, no longer yelling. He sounded so defeated. "How am I supposed to be there for you when you need me?"

"I'll be okay," she said, even though the thought of Zack not being in her life was like somebody stepping on her heart, and twisting until she thought she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Well...what am I supposed to do when I need you?" he asked, a vulnerable, horribly sorrowful expression marring his usually joyous face. "I just..." he faltered, wiping rainwater from his face, for all the good it did. They were both drenched. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do without you." His face contorted again, and he let out a yell as he kicked the wall, swearing and hobbling at his stubbed toes. He fell onto the ground, mud splashing up around him, but he didn't seem to care.

Aerith stooped down next to him, brushing his hair out of his eyes, not sure what to say to him. She didn't blame him. She wanted to kick the wall, too. He stopped her, grasping her hands in his own, a fervent look in his eyes.

"Let's run away together," he said. "We'll get out of here and go...anywhere. But we'll be together."

"What?" she asked, blinking rain out of her eyes.

"Yeah, come on...you want to stay together, don't you?"

It was a tempting thought, Aerith couldn't lie. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay, so fiercely that it made her physically ache. But...

"My mom...you know I can't leave her, Zack. We barely make it by as it is. You know I wish we could stay together..."

Zack's face fell briefly, but then he gave her a half smile. "I know. It was just a crazy idea. I didn't really think...I'm sorry. None of this feels fair."  
>"It doesn't," she agreed. "For what it's worth...I don't know what I'm going to do without you either, Zack." She threw her arms around him, and they squelched as they pressed against one another, holding on for dear life. She was glad it was raining, though. It hid the fact that she was crying; she knew if Zack saw her cry, it'd make it even harder for him to leave. She had to be strong, even while her whole world crumbled around her. But she only had to be strong for one day, and then she could cry as much as she needed.<p>

* * *

><p>The next day was a solemn affair, even though they both tried to make it a happy one. But Zack could tell that Aerith's heart wasn't in it, and he was similarly distracted. Every time he looked at her, he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him, and the weight of being all alone pressed in further. A crazy part of him still wanted to steal her away and run away, far enough so that his parents couldn't find him and make him move to some gods-forsaken, backwater town.<p>

Whenever she caught him looking, she'd smile her sweet, sad smile, and it only made Zack feel worse for leaving her, and even worse for feeling like he was going to be alone. If anyone was going to be alone, it was Aerith. He hoped Cissnei might keep her company once he was gone. And whenever she thought he wasn't looking, he could see how forlorn she was feeling, and no matter how well she tried to hide it, he could always see the misery in her eyes.

But he didn't see her cry once.

They shared a quiet dinner at his house, which was depressingly bare with most of the boxes already packed into the moving truck. Neither of them ate very much at all, pushing their food around their plates instead, dreading the tick of the clock as it drew them ever closer to departure. Time was slipping away, no matter how hard they tried to hold onto it.

She insisted on going with them to the airport to see them off, saying she'd call her mom to pick her up afterward. It was an awfully silent ride there, and Zack fiddled with the zipper on his bag, wishing he could say something to lighten the moment, but nothing came to mind. He didn't know if there _was_ anything to make this better.

The worst came when it was finally time to say goodbye. Zack stood, his bag weighing heavily on his shoulder, staring down at Aerith, who put on a brave smile.

"So," she said, and he heard a hint of a quaver in her voice.

"Yeah," he croaked, licking his dry lips. "I guess this is it."

"I guess so..." her head dropped and she looked down at their feet.

"But I'll call, everyday," he swore. "We'll still talk. We can still be best friends, right?"

"Yeah, of course," her voice cracked, and her eyes looked a little watery as she looked back up at him.

"And...we'll plan visits. Maybe you can come up for Christmas or something," he suggested. He knew it was unlikely, but the hopelessness was building back up in him again.

She smiled at his desperate attempt, and he thought she looked awfully pretty in spite of how sad she looked. It hurt to think he wouldn't see that face tomorrow, or the next day...

"Zack," he heard his mom call, and he glanced back at her, biting his lip.

"Yeah," he called back, his constricted throat strangling the words that were trying to come up. He looked back at Aerith, who was watching him carefully, like she was trying to memorize every last bit of him.

"I'll miss you," he managed to whisper around his tight throat, and she nodded jerkily, stepping into him and wrapping him in a crushing hug.

"I'll miss you, too," she said into his shirt. "_So much_." She drew back, and he released her reluctantly, his arms feeling heavy.

"Make some friends up there, okay? Don't you dare shut yourself in your room," she warned him, laughing weakly.

"You know me," Zack shrugged, trying to laugh, too. "I'm just a broody guy."

"Zack!" his mom called again.

"You'd better go," Aerith whispered.

"I guess."

His feet didn't want to move though. He _couldn't_ do this. Surely his parents would understand?

"Goodbye, Zack," Aerith said, and she was backing away from him, eyes bright.

"I..." he stalled, fighting back his own despair. "Goodbye, Aerith."

She turned and ran, like she couldn't stand to look at him anymore, and he watched her go until she disappeared before he finally picked up his feet and joined his parents, feeling worse than he could ever remember feeling his whole life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hmm. This chapter was not fluffy at all. Sorry for the slight delay on this one, I'm simultaneously working on the chapter for Love Thy Enemy as well, so I'm writing both at the same time in my head. It can be confusing, ahaha. This was kind of depressing to write. Actually, I was feeling rather lonely to begin with, which is probably why this one turned out so sad. But a certain blond is going to appear in the next chapter. :D**

**Please leave a review if you will...in the meantime, I'm going to finish writing the next chapter to Love Thy Enemy and continue watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. :K Also, have you ever noticed that 'lol' kind of looks like a drowning person? And drowning people are always so funny. They look ridiculous flailing around like that. (If you didn't catch the joke there, I was just joking. Drowning is never funny. But really, 'lol' does look like a drowning person. -end ramble-)**


	9. Reception

**Chapter 9: Reception**

_I'm laying on this pavement, the world is caving in_

_My life is full of stories, and secrets kept within_

_As I feel my breathing slow down at the end of this broken road_

_The only thing left on my mind is how I let her go_

**Sing it Loud – _Letting Go_**

* * *

><p>Nibelheim was the smallest place Zack had ever seen – or could remember, at least. Gongaga had probably been as small, but it had been a long time since Gongaga. Zack counted maybe five houses, including a big, creepy looking mansion.<p>

"That's not the new place, is it?" Zack asked. "You'd think Shinra would have cleaned the place better."

"Zack," his mom warned. He snapped his mouth shut, trying to stop the flood of sarcastic remarks that were fighting to come out. He wasn't normally so snarky, especially to his parents, but he was feeling cranky and resentful and he hadn't seen Aerith in almost twenty-four hours. It had been a _very_ long flight, with several flight changes in between. Each one made him realize he was getting further and further away from home; from Aerith.

The only plus of finally arriving in Nibelheim was that he could turn his phone back on. He wanted to call Aerith, let her know he'd made it.

He scowled at his cell – no service.

"Could you help us unpack, Zack? You can call Aerith later."

"Fine," he grumbled. Even though they were all tired, they unpacked a good portion of the essentials before finally calling in a day. They ate sandwiches for dinner, and then Zack went off to his room.

It was smaller than his old one, but it had a view, at least. He sat on his bed, staring out the window and to the mountains. Aerith would have liked it. As much as she feared the sky, she loved nature. He groaned, shifting his attention from the window to the various pictures of him and Aerith at different stages of their lives. He'd put those up almost immediately. He wanted something of home in this new place. His eyes rested on a more recent picture he'd taken of her. They'd been at the church, and she'd been planting more flowers. He'd called her name, and he'd snapped a picture right as she'd looked up questioningly, dirt smudged on her face.

How was it possible he was already missing her this much? He groaned again and flopped onto his bare mattress. Maybe when he woke up again, he'd be back home – his _real_ home.

* * *

><p>Zack reached into his pocket again, digging for his cell. He frowned. No signal.<p>

"Stop sulking with your phone and eat breakfast, Zack."

"There's no signal. I promised to call Aerith."

"Keep trying. Reception might be bad in the mountains."

"Awesome," Zack mumbled sarcastically. He pushed his breakfast away. "I'd better find this school of mine. Not that I'll have far to look. This place is smaller than my old school."

"Zack," his mom sighed wearily, and he felt a sting of guilt at being so short with her.

"Sorry," he sighed with her. "I just...

"Miss Aerith?" she asked, smiling kindly.

"Yeah," he agreed despondently.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry. I know how close you two were..."

"_Are._ We _are_ close. I don't care how far away I am," he corrected fiercely. Thinking about the distance made him feel glum again, and he didn't want his mom trying to comfort him anymore. Not now, at least. "I gotta go. New school...first day. Wouldn't want to be late."

His mom looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just said, "Have a good day, Zack."

He didn't voice the unlikeliness of that happening. "Bye," he called, dragging his feet out the door.

Just like he'd predicted, it wasn't difficult to find the school. All he had to do was follow the other bleary eyed students.

The school was ridiculously small, but there were more students than he would have guessed at first. He supposed there might have been smaller villages nearby, and this was the only school around.

Smallness aside, school was basically the same as back home. Well, except that everyone knew each other and all thirty students stared at him with unveiled curiosity. Zack missed the familiar faces at home. He missed the warmth of Aerith walking beside him.

Classes were dull and uneventful, and he'd forced himself to take some halfhearted notes, realizing that he wouldn't have Aerith's to look off of.

The most exciting part of the day came when school was finally out. As Zack was shuffling off the campus (if one could call it that) when the sound of chanting met his ears.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the growing crowd cheered.

Zack pushed his way through the crowd, pausing momentarily as he watched two guys tussling in the grass. Zack had been in plenty of fights before – nearly all in the name of defending Aerith – and he could see this one was only going to end up with two losers. So he stepped in, pulling off the guy who was currently winning.

"Beat it," Zack said, and the guy stumbled over to his friends with a glare at Zack. The crowd gave a disgruntled groan and slowly began to disperse.

Zack reached down to help the other guy up. "Some fight there," Zack commented as the blonde wiped blood from his nose. Blondie ignored Zack's outstretched hand and got to his feet, looking just as mad as the other boy had.

"I don't need your help," the blonde said, glaring fiercely, blood smeared on his face. "Mind your own business, new guy." Then he stalked off, grass stains on his butt and a rip in his shirt.

"Huh, there's gratitude for you," Zack said, almost regretting having stopped the fight.

"That's Cloud Strife. Don't mind him, he's always getting into fights."

Zack whirled around to see who was speaking to him. How he'd missed this girl all day, he didn't know. Had he really been that distracted all day? He also had to wonder if she'd missed the memo that she lived in the mountains, because she had more skin showing than fabric. Not that Zack minded. Long brown hair, legs that seemed to go on for miles, and the biggest pair of...eyes Zack had ever seen. She was pretty – but her eyes were glued to the retreating back of Cloud Strife, and he knew he didn't stand a chance. Something about the expression on her face reminded him of Aerith, and he couldn't help grinning.

"No worries. I used to get into fights, too. I'm Zack Fair."

"Tifa Lockhart," she said, holding one hand out while the other tucked hair behind her ear. Zack thought she seemed a little reserved, and odd contrast to how she dressed. Or maybe she was just trying to catch someone's attention.

He shook her hand – she had a surprisingly strong grip, too – and then she pulled away, one arm hanging at her side, the other hand gripping her elbow.

"Why does he fight?" Zack asked.

Tifa shrugged. "I don't know. I think he's just angry."

"Oh."

"What did you fight for?" she asked.

Zack smiled. "A girl, back home."

"That's sweet. Kind of romantic."

"She's my best friend," he told her, smile fading a bit as his insides churned.

"Oh. But she's in Midgar still? That's where you're from, right?"

"Yes. She's still there," he said wistfully. "So, who's Cloud to you?"

She blinked at him, apparently caught off guard. "Cloud? He's...just my neighbor. Always has been."

"But not your friend?" Zack asked, genuinely confused by the idea that two kids could be nothing more than neighbors.

"A long time ago...but not really anymore," she shrugged, and Zack thought she looked very lonely.

He took a deep breath, the cool air sharp in his nose. It already smelled like fall here. Aerith would love it, he thought gloomily.

"Well, if you want, I've been told I'm a pretty good friend."

Tifa shifted, looking uncomfortable. "I don't...I'm not looking for a boyfriend..."

"Who said anything about dating? I mean, I know I'm really good looking, and charming, and funny-"

"And modest, apparently," she jibed.

Zack laughed. "I see your point. What I'm trying to say is, I'm a good guy friend. Aerith would tell you just the same – we've been best friends since we were seven, and I never dated her. I'm totally capable of being just friends," he told her with a half grin.

"You sound like you miss her."

"Of course I do."

She stood quietly, a vacant expression on her face. Finally, she looked up at him and smiled prettily. "Okay. I could always use a friend," she said, holding out her hand again.

Zack smirked as he shook her hand. The gesture, the moment, sparked a memory in him. "Is this where we pinky swear?"

"Huh?"

"Nothin'," he chuckled. "Inside joke. So, how about you let a friend walk you home?"

* * *

><p>He checked his phone for the tenth time that day. No signal. <em>Still<em>.

"Damn it!" he yelled with a cry of frustration, flinging his phone forcefully at the wall. It smashed against the solid drywall with a crunch, and his phone fell to the ground in two separate pieces.

"Aw, man," Zack groaned, regretting having thrown his cell. His parents wouldn't be happy, either. He knelt down next to his disfigured phone, picking it up. It dangled limply, broken beyond repair. Despair crawled up into his chest. His phone had been his lifeline to Aerith, and he'd severed it.

"Zack, I heard a crash, are you alright?" It was his dad, peering into his room with a concerned look.

Zack dangled his demolished phone, grimacing. "I, uh, couldn't get a signal."

"Before or after? Because I don't think breaking phones help with getting a signal."

"I know, Dad. I just lost it for a second. Sorry."

"Trying to call Aerith, were you?"

"She probably thinks I forgot about her," Zack sighed, dropping his useless cell into the wastebasket.

"It's only been a day," his dad said consolingly.

"I _promised_ to call," Zack insisted. Why did no one understand?

"Well, if you can't call her, maybe you should write her a letter."

"A letter...? That's...that's...actually, that's a pretty good idea, Dad."

"I do have them occasionally," he said wryly.

"Thanks!" Zack said, brightening. "And, uh, sorry again about the phone."

"Don't worry. You can do some chores to pay for it."

Zack moaned.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Aerith,<em>

_ Congratulations if you can read this. It's been so long since I've written anything, my handwriting is nearly indecipherable. Try not to be amazed at my vocabulary, I'm using a dictionary. That's a book with words and their meanings in it! Who knew? (I'm just kidding, I know what a dictionary is.)_

_ Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't called. I didn't forget you, I promise. There's no signal up here, apparently – and uh, I sort of smashed my cell phone. Revenge, you know. So I'm sending this letter instead. At least our landline will be reconnected soon. I'll call then, I promise. Unless you really enjoy trying to decipher my handwriting._

_ School is...really boring. And small. There's maybe 30 kids. But you'd be proud, I made a friend today, and I stopped a fight. Not in that order. Other way around, actually. Her name is Tifa. Stop looking at me like that. We're just friends, and it's going to stay that way. I'm pretty sure she has a thing for this guy Cloud. I'm really perceptive about relationships, you know. But this Cloud guy seems kind of grumpy. He was in that fight I stopped. He got all mad at me for some reason. Tifa says he gets into lots of fights, though. Not sure what she sees in Mr. Grumpy-Fighter-Pants; maybe she really digs broody guys. Who knows? Some girls are like that._

_ Anyway, my hand is staring to cramp up from writing this novel. I'll call you soon, kay? I just wanted to let you know I'm okay and that I miss you already._

_ All the best,_

_ Zack_

Aerith smiled sadly as she smoothed the folds in the letter down. She'd already read it seven times, but she couldn't stop. Years of knowing Zack had trained her in reading his sloppy handwriting. The letter had been somewhat of a surprise, but a relief once the shock had worn off. It was comforting and reassuring, and it made her dizzy with joy and overwhelming sadness all at once.

She read it through again, hearing Zack's voice in her head as clearly as if he were standing in front of her, speaking to her. He wrote just like he talked.

She laughed softly. Zack _would_ make friends with a girl. Aerith was also sure Tifa was pretty. Zack had a knack for attracting the most beautiful ones. It was mildly reassuring that he maintained they would only be friends. She was silently cheering for Cloud, even though she didn't know him.

_I'm really perceptive about relationships._

A strangled laugh escaped her. _Yeah, except for when it came to me, Zack._

Even so, she missed him terribly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Getting closer to the end of this little plot bunny. The ending is going to be SOOO good guys. I'm really excited to share it with you. :3 This one was short, but I think I said what I wanted to. :P Leave a review, won't you? :D**


	10. Lovely Sound

**Chapter 10: Lovely Sound**

_So please don't forget to call me_

_Just to let me know, you're doing okay, _

_Miles away from me_

_So please tell me darling_

_Why you're so far away_

_When I need you beside me tonight_

**Chase Coy – _Summer's Song_**

* * *

><p>Aerith stared at the most recent picture Zack had sent her, deep in thought as her fingertip traced along the edge of his face. He looked so happy, one arm slung around Tifa, the other trying to pull an unwilling Cloud into the picture. Cloud appeared to be putting up a good fight, but one that had lost in the end, as he was still in the frame, caught rolling his eyes.<p>

_This is the best one we got of Cloud,_ Zack had written. _He'll make a great model one day, don't you think?_

Aerith laughed to herself at his joke. They still wrote letters to each other occasionally, usually when they exchanged pictures to show how they were doing. Half a year had already flown by, and Christmas was drawing nearer.

When he had first exited her life, it had been more painful than she liked to admit. She wore the loneliness like a tattered coat that did nothing to keep the cold out, and misery haunted her every step. For nearly all her life, Zack had been there, and in his absence, she realized how few friends she had. For the first few weeks, though, she'd turned down any company anyway. She wanted to be alone as she nursed her wounds.

Of course, time, as they say, heals all wounds. Not that she would consider herself _healed_, exactly. The pain was just...dulled. She wasn't happy, she was just...content.

From his numerous photos, Aerith could tell Zack was happy, though, and for that she was glad. Zack didn't do well with misery. It hadn't taken him very long after moving to Nibelheim to befriend Cloud, too, and from what Aerith could see, Zack had a fairly tight knit friendship with Cloud and Tifa. Seeing them in pictures together made Aerith glad, but it also stirred up longing and an insufferable ache. Once upon a time, it had been her and Zack with the tight knit friendship. Even though he'd promised to be best friends with her forever, the distance strained things. They still spoke regularly, but there was no way to be close anymore. She often worried about the day when they'd both realize they didn't really know each other anymore.

Which was part of the reason she was staring down at the picture in her hands with a frown on her face. Aerith had _no idea_ what to get Zack for Christmas, something that always used to be so easy for her. She had no idea what he needed, or what he wanted, and it was really depressing her. To make matters worse, even if she could find something to get him, would it be good enough? Could she even afford to send it across the world?

She sighed and dropped the picture down on her bed, closing her eyes as she rubbed her temples. There was a light knock on her door, followed by her mom entering her room, looking weary and worn.

"Hey mom," Aerith said with a wan smile.

"Hello dear," her mom said with a sigh of her own, sitting down on the bed next to her daughter. She glanced down at the picture, picking it up and holding it between her fingers with a fond smile. "Look at that. He's gotten so grown up, hasn't he?"

"He has," Aerith agreed. Zack had lost nearly all the vestiges of boyishness in his face, except for the mischievous smile and the playfulness in his eyes. Her mom chuckled softly.

"Who would have thought that hyperactive little boy from so many years ago would have turned out so normal?" she said jokingly, and Aerith cracked a smile.

"I don't know if I would call Zack normal," she played along.

"Maybe you're right...but I find myself missing him a little. It's very quiet without him around."

"You don't have to tell me," Aerith said glumly. "I miss him more than I can even put to words," she said, flopping back onto her bed, covering her eyes with her arm. "And to top it off, I have no idea what to get him for Christmas."

"I've been thinking about Christmas, too," her mom said lightly. "I know I haven't always been able to...afford the things you would have liked over the years-"

"Mom, no. Don't say that," Aerith interrupted, but her mom held her hand up, the lines in her face creasing as she smiled.

"You don't have to try and reassure me. We've always done our best getting by, and I know it's felt like it's been harder as of late. But the truth is, I've been saving up for a long time, and I think I know what to get you for Christmas this year."

"What?" Aerith asked, bewildered. She'd never once thought that her mother had been putting money aside. She'd always assumed they were barely scraping by.

But her mom just shook her head again, looking more mischievous than Aerith could ever recall. "I can't tell you yet, but trust me when I say you're going to like it," she said, standing up slowly, groaning as her back complained. She leaned over and kissed the top of Aerith's head. "It'll be a good Christmas," she promised.

"I...I know, Mom. They're always good," she said sincerely.

"Oh. And don't worry too much about what to get Zack. It'll come to you," her mom said with another smile before she left the room.

Aerith stared at the picture her mom had left lying on the blanket, feeling a little bewildered. She picked the picture up once more, holding it up to her face. "What was that about, Zack?" she asked the photo.

He didn't respond of course.

* * *

><p>Zack stamped his feet as he came into the house, shivering through his coat and hat, his fingers stiff from the cold. He'd spent the last half an hour or so shoveling walkways through the town to make some extra cash for Aerith's gift. Not that it looked it anymore, the snow was coming down so steadily. That, and he had no idea what to get Aerith for Christmas. Overall, the experience mostly just made him cold.<p>

"How is it out there?" his mom asked from the kitchen, the smell of baking wafting through the house pleasantly.

"Like Modeoheim," he joked, tugging off his gloves with his teeth. "Is it even possible for one place to have so much snow?"

"It's more than I'm used to," his mom agreed, and he heard the clink of blinds as she peered through the kitchen window. "By Gaia, you can barely see where you shoveled anymore!"

"Yeah, but I got paid before everyone else realized that," Zack chuckled. "I'm sure I'll be out there in another hour or so. You'd think some other lazy bums could come help me," he said.

"Speaking of Cloud, he came over while you were out. I sent him up to your room. He's still waiting. Well, unless he jumped out your window. Although, with the amount of snow on the ground, I think he would have a soft landing."

"I see how it is. He's warm in toasty in _my_ room while I'm out freezing my buns off," Zack complained good-naturedly as he hung up his coat.

"I made you hot chocolate," his mom smiled, handing him a steaming mug.

"Half marshmallows, half hot chocolate?" Zack grinned. His mom just shook her head with a laugh, pressing another mug into his hands. "Go see your friend," she told him with mock sternness.

Zack made his way up to his room, hot chocolates in hand, and as he swung open his bedroom door, he almost expected to see Aerith sitting on his bed waiting for him. The situation just seemed to call for it. He was almost disappointed when he was greeted with Cloud instead, but he managed to get over it quickly enough.

"Hey lazy bum," Zack said, handing Cloud some hot chocolate. "For whatever reason, you're being rewarded for doing nothing." Cloud's eyebrow twitched, which Zack took to be amusement. Cloud wasn't the most expressive guy, but Zack appreciated his stoic personality. It felt like when Cloud said something, it was more important than if he just spoke all the time.

Cloud's focus was on Zack's wall, which was plastered with numerous pictures Aerith had sent him, and pressed flowers she'd slipped into her letters, all pinned to his wall.

"This one's new," Cloud said in his somber voice, fingering the edge of Aerith's most recent picture. In this picture, Aerith was in her room, surrounded by all the Christmas decorations she planned to hang up, an endearing smile on her face.

"Yeah. Aerith's always excited for Christmas. Not for the presents so much...she just likes the atmosphere."

Cloud merely nodded, staring at the picture until Zack became unnerved. "What are you looking at? It's not going to change if you stare at it longer," he joked.

"You never dated her?" Cloud asked, surprising Zack. Cloud wasn't much for relationship talk, which made getting him and Tifa together difficult. Cloud seemed to avoid the topic like the plague.

"No..." he said slowly, wondering where Cloud was going with this.

"Hmm," Cloud hummed in response. "I think I would have," he said after a long moment. Zack spat a mouthful of hot chocolate back into his cup, staring at Cloud in shock.

"What? You're not Aerith's type," he said more sharply than he intended. "She doesn't think much of angst-ridden guys."

Cloud just gave him an odd look, as if to say, "Really?"

"Besides," Zack continued. "You can't even ask Tifa out, what makes you think you'd date Aerith?"

"I only meant I'd date her if I were you. I don't want to date her." Cloud didn't even acknowledge the Tifa comment.

"Why not? Aerith's gorgeous, and she's probably the nicest person you'll ever meet!" Zack said heatedly.

"First you say I'm not her type, now you're mad I don't want to date her. Are you okay?" Cloud asked, and Zack could hear a hint of laughter in his tone.

Zack sighed. "I'm just saying...well, you're not her type, but you'd be lucky to date her. She's amazing. Now stop being so weird and drink your hot chocolate."

"I'm not being weird," Cloud said, a little defensively. "I'm just saying. I don't know why you haven't gone out with her."

Zack sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because...Cloud, she's my best friend."

"So? Friends can date."

"By that logic I should be dating Tifa," Zack shot back, and Cloud gave him a dark scowl. "But I _won't_ because we're _friends_," Zack said slowly.

"So that's the only reason? Because you're friends?"

"Well, I think Tifa's interested in someone else, you know," Zack said, waggling his eyebrows. It was Cloud's turn to sigh.

"I meant with Aerith."

"Oh. Well, I...uh..." he fumbled. "I mean. Yeah, I guess. Friends don't date."

"That's stupid."

"Yeah, well, so is being a neighbors with a girl all your life and not being friends with her," Zack grumbled. Much to Zack's relief, Cloud finally dropped the subject and drank his hot chocolate.

* * *

><p>While school was still in session, Zack was mostly able to forget about his conversation with Cloud. But when Christmas break finally started, Zack had nothing to distract him from his own thoughts, and consequentially, he spent a lot of time pondering Cloud's words. Was it really such a bad thing to date a friend? After all, Cloud and Tifa were friends (kind of), but that hadn't stopped Zack from trying to get them together. It wasn't so absurd to think that he could date Aerith.<p>

Not that it mattered. They were only thousands of miles apart now, which made any dating prospect with her improbable. He wondered what she'd think of long distance...

_Stop daydreaming, Zack, _he scolded himself. She had never given him any indication over their many years of friendship that she wanted to date him. In fact, more often than not, she'd roll her eyes at him when he'd inadvertently flirted with her. It was clear she wasn't interested in him _that way. _

Zack frowned. That was kind of a bummer. It had never bothered him before. He'd never really put a whole lot of thought into it before. _Damn you, Cloud._

With a shake of his head, Zack refocused on what he was doing – plotting the perfect plan to finally get Cloud to ask Tifa out. Heck, maybe he could get her to ask him. Some guys liked that in a girl, the confidence. It was kind of gutsy for a girl to ask a guy out, wasn't it? And Tifa was all sorts of independent, which Zack figured Cloud liked about Tifa, unless Zack had completely misjudged Cloud. But Cloud didn't seem like the kind of guy to like a girl only for her looks. Underneath his grumpy, brooding exterior, Cloud was thoughtful and nice...

_Blech, now you're thinking like a girl, Zack._

But those were the things Aerith would have liked about Cloud. The fact that he was secretly nice, that is, not that he seemed like a jerk at first. Aerith had little tolerance for mean people – she mostly just ignored them.

And somehow, Zack was back to thinking about Aerith.

_No! Focus._

Right, the perfect plan. Maybe the Christmas holiday would bring them together. All of that cheer and strategically placed mistletoe, followed up with a fantastic gift. On the other hand, Zack thought he might have a difficult time tricking either of them under mistletoe. They weren't stupid. Pity.

Okay, new plan. Maybe something with snow...the cold...getting all snuggly to warm up. He grinned a little, remembering his first snow, and how cold it had been. He also remembered Aerith, back pressed against the wall, paralyzed by the sight of the great, open sky, followed by their own brief snowball fight. She'd retaliated by shoving a fistful of snow into his coat, and then he'd pressed his cold hands to her neck and she'd squirmed. Then she'd reached over and fixed his hat, and they'd gone back to his house where he'd given her the flower wagon.

"Agh!" he yelled out loud, flailing his hands in the air. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept circling back to Aerith.

"Problem?" his mom asked from the doorway, looking wary.

"I'm...it's nothing. Just going crazy," he said casually, grinning.

"You've got another letter," his mom said, holding up the envelope in between two of her fingers.

It was as if his thoughts had summoned the letter from her. He fought down an insane grin and held out his hand for it, trying to look like he was only mildly excited when he was actually doing a jig inside. His mom was watching him shrewdly, though, like she could tell that he was about to burst in excitement.

"Thanks," he said, quickly snatching the letter from her fingers. He stared at her until she left, and then he ripped the letter open with trembling fingers.

_Seriously, take a chill pill, Zack._

He took a deep breath to calm his sudden nervousness – honestly, what was the deal? - and he finished opening the envelope, plucking the letter out and unfolding it, Aerith's familiar handwriting greeting him.

_Happy Christmas break!_

_ At least, I hope it is. From your last letter, it sounds like it's pretty cold up there. Is it anything like Modeoheim, you think?_

Zack smiled and laughed at this. Apparently he wasn't the only one reminiscing.

_I think my Christmas is going to be great. My mom has a surprise for me this year – she hasn't said what yet, but I'm really excited for it. You'll never believe it, but my mom's been putting aside money all these years, saving up! I hope she gets something nice for herself, too. I'd feel bad if she spent it all on my gift. I really don't need anything special, but she won't listen to me when I bring it up. _

_ She misses you, though. She says it's too quiet without you. Personally, I'm glad for the peace and quiet. (I'm only kidding. I miss you, of course!)_

_ Give me a call on Christmas, okay? I'll be home all day, and you can tell me about all the presents you got, and __vice versa. I'm still trying to get you something, though. Are you sure there isn't anything you need? I know you said last time you couldn't think of anything, but I have no idea what to get for you. It sort of makes me feel like a terrible best friend – shouldn't I just __**know**__ what to get you, instinctively? _

_ Anyway, I miss you, and I hope you're doing well._

_ Love,_

_ Aerith_

_ P.S. Good luck with Cloud and Tifa!_

Zack stared down at her letter to him, his eyes tracing over each letter slowly, soaking it in. It wasn't a particularly long letter, but it was enough. He could almost hear how curious she was about her Christmas present, coupled with the concern for her mom. Aerith was always thinking of others that way. Zack didn't think she had a selfish bone in her body.

His eyes lingered on the word love. She'd always signed her letters with love, and he'd never given it any thought. That was just Aerith. But now, for whatever reason, it made his heart beat a little bit faster, and it made his chest a little tight. Love.

* * *

><p>Although Zack had had similar troubles finding something suitable for Aerith, he'd eventually settled on buying her a cell phone. He knew she couldn't afford one herself (although he seriously hoped that Aerith's mom wasn't getting one for her with that extra dough she'd saved), and it would be nice to reach her when she wasn't at home. He kept missing her the past few days, and he wondered what she could be doing that she wasn't home.<p>

He'd sent her present early so it would get there either before or on Christmas – he didn't want it to arrive late, and he wasn't sure how great the postal service would be around the holidays.

In other news, Zack had decided to combine the only two plans he'd come up with to get Cloud and Tifa to share some smooches, figuring if one didn't work, then the other one would, or even better, both plans combined would be better than one.

Which was why he was currently hurling snowballs as hard as he could at Cloud.

"Damnit!" Cloud cursed as another snowball hit in him in the rear. "Zack why are you throwing so hard? I'm right HERE."

"Come on, betcha can't hit me," Zack taunted, sticking his tongue out and dodging another pitiful throw by Cloud. "Come on, Tifa's doing better than you." This was followed by a wet smack as one of Tifa's snowballs hit him in the chest. "See?"

"Leave him alone, Zack," Tifa said with an exasperated noise.

"Just some friendly competition," Zack shrugged and grinned back at her. While his face was turned, Cloud threw another snowball that hit him right in the face.

"Ack!" Zack yelped, the cold stinging bitterly on his skin.

"Ha!" Cloud cheered. "Got you that time, Zack!"

As Zack wiped snow off his face, he wondered how he could get the two of them together other than throwing them both into the snow next to each other. Actually, that might not be such a bad plan. No, Tifa wouldn't take kindly to being thrown, and she studied martial arts, so she'd undoubtedly kick his ass for it. He sighed internally. His matchmaking efforts were going completely unappreciated.

"Let's make Cloud into a snowman," Zack suggested to Tifa, who raised a brow at him in confusion.

"I don't want to be a snowman," Cloud grunted.

"We could make snow angels," Zack offered.

"No," Cloud responded flatly.

"You guys have no imagination. What do you want to do then?" he asked, forming another snowball and tossing it in the air and catching it repeatedly.

"Go inside, where it's warm."

"Again, you are no fun," Zack groaned. "Tifa, you'll make snow angels with me, right?" he asked, beaming at her.

"Actually, I have a few more presents to wrap. I should get back inside, too."

"But, uh...don't you guys want to hang mistletoe with me?" Zack asked, realizing how stupid he sounded after the words left his mouth.

"Uh, sounds like a solitary job, Zack. No offense," Cloud said hastily.

Tifa laughed softly. "Maybe later, Zack. Like I said, I have presents to wrap! Bye guys," she said with a little wave, and Zack watched her skip off. Well, as well as anyone could skip off through knee-high snow.

"Why in the world did you want to hang mistletoe with us?" Cloud asked in bewilderment.

"I'm trying to do you two a favor, but you're two blind to see it!" Zack huffed in frustration.

"What? You mean...me and Tifa?" Cloud blushed.

"Duh, dummy. Can't you see it? She's totally got it for you."

"What is _it, _exactly?"  
>"I dunno, the hots? She likes you, I can tell. And I <em>know<em> you like her. Why don't you just ask her out already?" Zack sighed.

"I...no way! I can't. It's Tifa! She...she does _not_ like me that way."

"You're crazy. She does."

"Even if she did...I can't just ask her! I need...the right moment," Cloud mumbled.

"Hence the mistletoe."

"Oh," Cloud said, looking flustered. Then a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "Is that what you've been trying to do all this time? Is that why you always get so weird when we're all together?"

"I do not get weird! I'm just dropping some subtle hints."

"...Yeah, you're not very subtle," Cloud said with a laugh, shaking his head as he started to head back to his house.

"Subtle enough that you didn't realize what I was doing until right now," Zack shot back.

Cloud didn't respond, though. He just walked back to his house, looking deep in thought. He'd probably be sulking for hours, or just being all around melancholy. That was what Cloud did, after all.

* * *

><p>Christmas Eve brought along something terrible. His mom brought in the mail, along with a flurry of snow as the door was opened and the wind howled inside their house. She was also carrying a small package under her arm, one that looked very familiar to Zack.<p>

"Why is that here?" Zack asked in alarm, eyes glued to the present he'd sent to Aerith's house. On it was 'Return to Sender' was stamped in big, red letters. "Return to Sender? Why? There was enough postage!"

"Maybe there was just a mistake with the address," his mother said, trying to console him.

"I know Aerith's address, Mom, I've been sending her letters for months. Something's wrong."

"Why don't you give Aerith a call and see if she knows what's going on?" his mom said.

"Yeah, okay," Zack agreed, taking a deep breath. He was overreacting a little bit. His mom was probably right, it was just a mix up at the post office. Zack dialed Aerith's number and held the phone to his ear. Instead of the expected ringing, a recorded message came through the phone.

"_We apologize, the number you are trying to call has been disconnected._"

Zack's heart lodged in his throat and he slammed the phone down. "No one's there," he said, the words thick in his mouth. "Something's wrong. Their number's been disconnected."

"What? Zack, slow down," his mom said, looking confused and concerned.

"There's no one there. The number doesn't even exist anymore, it doesn't work!" Zack said breathlessly. "I...I've gotta go to Midgar, Mom. What if something's happened to Aerith and her mom? What if they got robbed, or their house burned down...or...or...they don't have enough money to live anywhere anymore?"

"Zack, you can't just go to Midgar," his mom said, a pained expression on her face.

"Like hell I can't!" he said fiercely. "Sorry," he added quickly for his rudeness. "But I have to. I can't have a good Christmas if I'm worried about Aerith. I just can't."

"Zack, I think you're overreacting. Maybe they're just getting a new phone number."

"Mom," Zack said in frustration, gritting his teeth.

"I think you should just go take a walk, calm down a little bit, and think this through."

Zack opened his mouth to argue, but he knew it was going to be no use. His mom wouldn't agree to let him take off to Midgar, especially not right before Christmas. With a weak smile that was more like a grimace, he nodded in agreement and tugged his winter things on, then stepped outside into the cold, the dry air snapping at his exposed skin. The snow had lessened somewhat, but it was going to be dark soon, and then it would get even colder. He'd have to take a short walk while he planned.

Because no matter what his mom said, he was going to catch the first plane to Midgar and make sure that Aerith was okay. He _had_ to.

Muttering under his breath, he paced furiously through the snow, not watching where he was going, which was why not long into his walk, he ran right into somebody, sending them both tumbling into the snow.

"Eep!" the person squeaked, voice muffled underneath him.

"Sorry, sorry," Zack apologized hastily, flushing with embarrassment. "My fault, I wasn't watching where I was..." he trailed off as he picked himself up and took a look at the person.

"Well, aren't you going to help me up, or are you just going to stand there and gape?" the girl asked with a crooked smile, green eyes sparkling with unconcealed happiness.

It was Aerith.

* * *

><p><strong> THE END.<strong>

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Just kidding. I'm not trollin' that much. Sorry for the wait on this, I've been working a lot more lately, which leaves me feeling rather drained when I get home. Then I do other things, like play Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or watch Buffy, or play the new DLC for DAII, or watch all of the web series The Guild. Oh Felicia Day Y U MAKE ME LAFF? :D**

** So yeah...hence the lack of update from me. :x But we are even closer to the end, omfg. I'm thinking two more chapters, three at most. XD Also, I kind of feel meh about this chapter...but whatever. It's finally out. I just want to get to the good stuff. :P**


	11. More Than a Friend

**Chapter 11: More Than a Friend, I Knew It From the First Sight**

_I gotta say, I wasn't expecting you_

_To come this way and fall into my arms_

_And now I know, I can't deny this feeling any longer_

_I close my eyes I can't stop thinking 'bout you_

_Crack a smile, I just can't lose_

_At a mile a minute, my heart beats to the limit when I'm with you_

**We Are The In Crowd – _Kiss Me Again_**

* * *

><p>"Aerith?" Zack spluttered, not comprehending what she was doing in front of him. "Did I fall asleep? Oh Gaia, am I freezing to death in the snow? Is my brain just playing tricks on me?"<p>

She laughed, and it sounded so much better in person than it did over the phone. She held her hand up, and he stuck his hand out perfunctorily, almost jolting when she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.

"It is you!" he cried, squeezing her hand. "Unless my brain is really shutting down now, and I've gotten really good at hallucinating."

"Stop being silly, of course it's me," Aerith told him. Then her arms were around him, gripping him tight. "I've missed you so much!"

He blinked in shock, then his arms wrapped around her, hugging her close to him. "I missed you too. Hey...what are you doing here?" he asked, leaning back to look down at her. "Not that I'm complaining," he added. "Oh, wait, is this your Christmas present? Your mom let you visit for Christmas?"

"Kind of," Aerith grinned, taking a step back from him finally.

"Wait, you get to stay till New Years?" Zack asked excitedly.

"Longer," Aerith beamed, her face flush with the cold, or maybe just plain excitement. Zack was sure he looked much the same.

"How long?"

A sly smile grew on her face, and she bit her lip, looking a bit impish. After months of talking with her through letters and on the phone, it had never really hit Zack how much he'd missed watching her expression change.

"We kind of moved here. That's what my mom's been saving for. I'm here to stay."

Zack's mouth dropped open, and then his face split into a giant grin. "No way! Are you serious?" he demanded, grabbing her shoulders and staring her down. "Cause that'd be a lame joke."  
>"Completely serious," she swore solemnly, before another laugh escaped her. "Can you believe it?"<p>

"...Not really. I'm still having a hard time believing I'm awake and not losing my fingers and toes in the snow somewhere."

"You're awake, and I'm really here," Aerith chuckled, squeezing his hand. She took a deep breath and exhaled with a grin.

Zack took a moment to take her in. He had pictures, sure, but she looked so...so...something. He wasn't sure what the word was, but seeing her seemed to make everything better. Not to mention, her being here meant she wasn't robbed or out of a home back in Midgar.

"I was about to catch the first flight to Midgar, you know," he said, suddenly remembering why he hadn't been watching where he was going.

"What? Why?" Aerith asked, her laughter slipping away.

"I thought you were in trouble. Your present came back in the mail, and then I tried calling you but the number was disconnected...I kind of freaked," he said sheepishly.

She laughed quietly. "Sorry. I wanted to surprise you. I...couldn't think of what to get you, so I figured I'd be the present this year."

"Oh yeah?" Zack grinned. "Well, when do I get to unwrap you?" Aerith turned a brilliant shade of red, cuing Zack's own blush. "Sorry...that came out...really wrong," he said with a nervous laugh. "And kind of sleazy."

But Aerith was shaking with laughter now, holding her face in her hands. "You haven't changed a bit," she told him breathlessly.

"Cheesiness aside, I'm really glad you're here. It's the best present I could have asked for. I mean...really, you're a sight for sore eyes."

"Really?" she asked, the remains of her blush still lingering on her cheeks.

"Really. And my eyes are the sorest." Zack shook his head, closing his eyes with a groan. "Apparently you bring the cheesiness out of me."

"A special talent of mine," she giggled.

He took a deep breath, taking another moment to look at her. She was here. She was staying. She was adorable in her winter things, hat snug over her ears, loose curls of her brown hair tumbling out from underneath and framing her face. And she was covered nearly head to toe in snow, but snow encrusted or not, she really was a sight for sore eyes.

"You're covered in snow," he told her stupidly. She'd probably noticed.

"Uh, yeah, someone ran into me," she said with a laugh. "You're no better." She stepped closer to him, brushing snow off of his coat, and he could smell her flowery shampoo as she leaned into him. Suddenly, she was hugging him again, squeezing him with all her might – although her might wasn't that mighty to begin with, Zack thought with a grin.

"Ooh, I missed you so much!" she repeated. "I can't believe I'm here."

"Must be one of those Christmas miracles you're always going on about," he teased her gently. "Oh!" he exclaimed, and she pulled away with a questioning look. "I have to introduce you to Cloud and Tifa! Come on!" he beamed, grabbing her hand and tugging her back toward Cloud's house. "Oh man, my mom's going to be to excited to see you here! And hey, you can help me with Cloud and Tifa. They're impossible, you know," he told her seriously.

Aerith just smiled at him – Gaia, he had _missed_ that smile, and seeing it again made his chest tighten up again. What was that all about? She slung her arm around his waist so they were walking almost hip to hip with each other.

"Lead the way, best friend."

Although Zack was excited to introduce Aerith to his other friends, he walked slowly, almost afraid that she'd disappear on him. When they reached the center of the town, which admittedly wasn't very far from where they'd started, Zack stopped in front of the old water tower, which was covered heavily with inches of snow.

"Stay here for a sec, I'll go get them. I want you to meet them both at the same time."

"Zack, it's freezing out here!" Aerith said, shivering as he stepped away from her side.

"I'll be fast," he promised. "Here, take my coat," he said, tugging off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders.

"You're going to freeze to death," she admonished, but he was already hurrying away.

"I'm fine!" he assured her, even though his arms were covered in gooseflesh. Zack started at Tifa's house first, knowing Cloud would be more willing to come out into the cold if he had a good reason – like seeing Tifa, for example. He pounded on the door, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. After a few agonizingly long moments, Tifa appeared at the door.

"Hey! Come on, I have to show you something," Zack said hurriedly.

"What's this about, Zack?" Tifa asked slowly as she reached for her coat and pulled it on.

"You'll see," he grinned. "Hurry up, we've got to go get Cloud, too."  
>"Er," Tifa hesitated, and her eyes flicked back inside.<p>

"What?"

"Cloud's...sort of..."

"What's going on?" Cloud's voice came from inside Tifa's house, and Zack's eyes widened.

"He's here?" he turned to Cloud. "You're here! What are you doing here? Wait a second..." Zack narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the pair of them. Mussed hair, swollen lips, flushed skin..."AHA!" Zack shouted, pointing at them accusingly. "I _knew _it! I can't believe I've been trying all this time and here I find you two making out behind my back!"

"We weren't making out," Cloud mumbled, and Tifa blushed heavily.

"What-ever. Don't try and play coy with me, you two, I know the look of a person who's been kissed good and proper!" Another shiver brought Zack back to the present situation at hand. "Anyway, as thrilling as this moment must be, you guys have to come with me. I've got a surprise to show you."

So, after pulling their coats on and asking Zack where his own was, he led them back to the water tower. It was almost completely dark now, save for the soft glow of lights from the lampposts, and the snow was falling more quickly. For a moment, he thought Aerith was gone, that she had been some extreme figment of his imagination, but then he was able to make out her silhouette.

"Zack, we've seen the water tower before," Cloud complained.

"Not the water tower, doofus. Her!" he said, pointing as Aerith made her way to them. Zack grinned wildly even as his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"You're going to turn into an ice cube," Aerith said and she handed him back his coat.

"You were cold," Zack shrugged as he slipped back into his coat.

"Now you're colder," she pointed out.

"You're Aerith," Cloud interrupted, sounding surprised. "I mean...this is Aerith, right?" Cloud asked Zack uncertainly.

"Yup. In the flesh."

"Hi," Aerith said, somewhat shyly, holding her gloved hand nervously. Tifa reacted first, shaking Aerith's hand with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you, Aerith. Zack never shuts up about you. And I suppose you know who we are already."

Aerith nodded with a light laugh. "Zack's told me a lot about you both, too. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Are you here for the holiday?" Cloud asked quietly, having recovered from his surprise.

"Actually...we just moved here. So I guess you'll be seeing a lot more of me."

Cloud looked contemplative for a moment before replying. "I can't decide if I should congratulate you or not. Being stuck in Nibelheim with this guy of all people," he said steadily, gesturing to Zack.

"Har har. Now this guy becomes a joker, huh?" Zack asked.

"I've always been wildly funny," Cloud said seriously.

"I guess I missed the memo," Zack shot back. "But...yeah, guys, this is my best friend Aerith. No offense, 'cause you guys are great and everything, but Aerith and I made a promise -"

"-when you were seven," Cloud said with an exaggerated sigh.

"And you pinky swore with one another," Tifa continued with a grin.

"To be best friends-"

"-Forever."

Zack humphed. "I guess they've heard this story before." The four of them laughed, and it rang out into the night as they stood huddled together in the cold. When their giggles finally subsided, Cloud stamped his feet and rubbed his hands together.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aerith said at his motions. "I've been making you two stand outside in the cold."

"That's Zack's fault, actually," Tifa jibed. "Only he would think it was a good idea to have this little meeting in negative ten degree weather."

"Of course it was a good idea," Zack said, sticking his tongue out at Tifa. "Now we can all huddle up like one big, happy family," he said, throwing his arms around Cloud and Aerith, who were closest to him. "Come on, Tifa, group hug," he said, trying to shuffle the group closer to her. "Cloud, grab your girlfriend," Zack urged.

Cloud, who had been struggling to get away, glared at Zack and turned crimson. "I have to go," he stammered, and he ducked out from under Zack's arm and trudged through the snow drifts back to his house.

"You think he'd be more cheery, considering you two were one with the smoochies," Zack sighed to Tifa. She looked mildly embarrassed, but pleased at the same time. She didn't storm off like Mr. Grumpy Pants, either, so that was a good sign.

"Zack...I have to go," Tifa said, apparently opting to ignore the topic at hand. "It was good meeting you, Aerith," she said, before going the opposite direction toward her own house.

"You can't avoid this forever!" Zack shouted after her. "YOU BELONG TOGETHER."

Tifa continued to ignore him all the way to her house.

"So get this," Zack burst out. "I go to get Tifa, and Cloud's at her house. They were kissing, I could tell, even though they were trying to be all sneaky. Looks like my hard work paid off after all," he said smugly.

"That's...nice I guess," Aerith said politely. "But do you think we could follow their example and head inside? I don't think I can feel my toes anymore."

"Well...for the sake of your toes. But only because they're so cute."

Aerith just shook her head while she shivered; Zack had to admit, the cold was finally penetrating through his excitement, and he longed for the warmth of his own house again.

"Come on, it's this way," he told her, snagging her hand again. He opened his front door to the smell of baking cookies, his mother standing by the stove as she checked on her baking.

"Zack, is that you? Do you feel a little better after your walk?" she asked, not turning around.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that," Zack said, grinning to himself.

"Well, I made you some cookies to cheer you up. I know you're worried about Aerith, but I'm sure she's fine, honey," his mom said as she shut the oven door again. "Looks like they need a few more minutes – oh!" His mom dropped her oven mitt in surprise as she spotted Aerith.

"Hello Mrs. Fair," Aerith said with a broad smile as she tugged her hat off her head, smoothing down her hair.

"Aerith! I...what are you doing here? Oh, what am I saying, it's great to see you!" his mom cried, throwing her arms around Aerith in a fierce hug.

"My mom's gift to me," Aerith told her as she pulled back. "She's been saving money – did Zack tell you? Well, she'd been planning to move from Midgar for the longest time, she told me, and well...here we are," Aerith said with a shrug.

"Oh that's wonderful, sweetie!" Zack's mom hugged Aerith again. "So tell me, how's your mom doing?" she said briskly, and Zack watched as Aerith peeled off her gloves, stuffing them in her coat pockets, then taking her coat off and hanging it on the coat rack while she chattered happily with his mom. He wasn't paying attention to what they were saying so much as to just watching Aerith move around his kitchen in a form-fitting red sweater (or was it a cardigan? Aerith would know the difference, but he couldn't honestly say he cared – it looked great on her, no matter what it was called) and a pair of worn jeans that were still coated lightly with snow.

Aerith made her way around the kitchen, slipping easily into the role of helper, stirring cookie dough and grabbing other necessities for his mom, occasionally asking where something was, but quickly figuring out the layout of everything. He liked how she would open drawers and cupboards with a flick of her wrist or her finger, but she'd close the same things with a nudge from her hips or a push from her elbow.

"What are you smiling about?" Aerith asked him, snapping him from his observations. He felt his face warm slightly under her gaze, having been caught staring, and apparently smiling like a fool, which he hadn't realized until she'd brought it up.

"Look at you," he said, quickly recovering. "Five minutes in my house and my mom's already coerced you into cooking."

"I don't mind helping. Unlike someone I know, lazy," she teased him.

"Oh, why don't you two go on upstairs, and I'll bring some up when I'm done. I'm sure you'd rather catch up with Zack than blabber on with an old lady, Aerith."

Aerith laughed freely. "You're hardly old, Mrs. Fair, and I like catching up with you."

"Well, I think my son has missed you more than I have, so run along," she said with mock sternness.

"If you insist," Aerith agreed. Zack didn't wait for his mom to change her mind, pushing Aerith eagerly to the stairs.

"We escaped," he joked as they reached the top of the stairs, sweeping his door open with his arm. "Well...this is it. My man cave."

He watched her avidly as she stepped into the doorway, her eyes sweeping over the walls that were covered with all the pictures she'd sent him. Next, her eyes drifted down to the open shoebox on the floor that was filled to the brim with the letters she'd written. She stepped cautiously into his room, edging closer to one of his walls, her hand reaching up and lingering over one of the pictures like she was going to grab it, but then her fingers closed into her hand and she stepped back.

He was a little alarmed to see her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"Aerith...?"

She gave an odd laugh and hastily wiped at her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't expecting to see all of my pictures like this."

"And it...makes you sad?" he said slowly.

"No! It makes me happy...I..." she faltered, biting her lip. "I was worried that you...that maybe you didn't miss me like...the way I missed you," she admitted, wringing her fingers in discomfort. "I know it's silly..."

"Of course I missed you, Aerith."

"I know. I'm being silly...you just seemed so much happier than I was. I worried."

"You may be the smartest person I know, but sometimes you're a real dummy," he said, smiling softly. "I missed you every day, so much it hurt sometimes. And yeah, I'm happy having Cloud and Tifa, but it's just _not_ the same, you know?"

Aerith nodded fervently. "Yeah, I know." She still looked a little uncomfortable, like she was embarrassed by her own admission. Zack sauntered over to his bed and crawled onto it, sitting cross-legged, and patted the space in front of him. She mimicked him, sitting across from him with her legs crossed, folding her hands in her lap.

"Alright, so I've managed to get Cloud to make a move with Tifa, but he's going to be a bit gun-shy now that I caught him in the act. My snow plan didn't work, so part 'b' involves strategically placed mistletoe," Zack said with a cheeky grin.

"Okay," Aerith laughed. "Where are you going to hang it?"

"Everywhere," Zack shrugged.

"That's one way to do it, I suppose."

"Right, but it's a lot of mistletoe, so I'll need some help hanging it. That's where you come in."

"Don't you think you should just let things progress naturally with them?" she asked.

"If I let things progress naturally with them, they wouldn't go out on a date until they were eighty." Aerith laughed again, and Zack beamed, pleased.

"You know, in Old English, mistletoe was called misteltan, which translated into dung twig," Aerith informed him.

"Come again?"

"They named it after bird droppings on a branch," she giggled, covering her mouth.

"I see. I'll be sure to tell Cloud – that'll be sure to get his blood pumping."

* * *

><p>Aerith blinked sleepily, squinting against the light shining in through the window. She didn't even remember falling asleep. She and Zack had talked long into the night, stuffing their faces with cookies and milk, reminiscing and plotting their mistletoe mission (as Zack liked to call it), and then...<p>

Aerith's eyes shot open. She hadn't even gone home! She sat up hastily, her hand flying up to her forehead. They'd fallen asleep. Zack was lying curled up next to her sideways on the bed, breathing deeply and slowly. He was still sleeping. Even in her panic (her mom wasn't going to be happy) she couldn't stop herself from taking a moment to just look at him. His hair was even messier than usual, sticking up at even odder angles, and it looked like he'd drooled a little on his bedspread, and a faint whistling was coming from his nose as he slept.

He was beautiful, and it made Aerith ache to be so close to him, to finally be back _with_ him. She sighed, and Zack stirred at the noise, mumbling.

"Cloud...be a snowman...come on," he grumbled. Aerith smiled and pressed her lips together to keep her laughter in. By the amount of light outside, she guessed it was still early morning – that, and she had the amazing ability to read clocks. Zack's bedside alarm clock read 6:23.

"Zack," she whispered, keeping her voice down so she wouldn't wake anyone else in the house.

"Mom, don't wanna get up," he groaned. "Sleepy."

"Zack," she whispered more insistently, shaking his shoulders. He rolled his head toward her and cracked one eye open, smiling sleepily when he saw her.

"Oh hey...hey? What're you doin' here?" he slurred.

"We fell asleep."

"Are the cookies done?" he asked, apparently still groggy.

"No, it's morning, Zack. We slept the whole night. I never went home."

"Oh...uh-oh," he said, looking more awake now as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He wiped at his mouth, looking faintly embarrassed. "I don't usually drool in my sleep."

"Sure," she said, grinning slyly at him. "Anyway, that's not what I should be worrying about. My mom is not going to be pleased."

"Why? You used to sleep over at my house all the time."

"We were seven, Zack. It's different when you're seventeen."

"Look, it's not like we did anything wrong, right? We talked, we slept, we woke up. Your mom won't be mad."

She never understood how he did it; how he could make her feel better about something, even when she knew logically that she should be worried.

"You think?"

"Yeah. It's still early enough," he said with a glance at the clock. "Maybe she didn't even notice you were missing."  
>"I was supposed to go back home and help her unpack, actually," Aerith confessed guiltily.<p>

"Okay, so she might have noticed. But you can help her unpack today. Heck, I'll help out, too."

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Not that we have a whole lot to unpack," she said lightly. It was true, they didn't have many possessions to begin with. But it sure made moving a lot easier.

"Alright," Zack said with a yawn as he stretched. "Let's get to it."

"Um, Zack, maybe we can wait until it's later in the morning. I'm pretty sure my mom's still sleeping."

Zack scratched his hair with a sloppy grin. "Oh, good point. I wouldn't mind catching a few more z's either."

"Lazy," she teased.

"Well, someone kept me up all night, talking," he said, sticking his tongue out playfully. She laughed, quickly slapping her hand over her mouth to hush herself so she wouldn't wake Zack's parents. Zack gave her an admonishing look, as if to say, "Who's waking who now?"

"Let me walk you home," Zack said, looking down on the floor for his shoe – he'd fallen asleep with one still on his foot, the other one having apparently been kicked off sometime during the night.

What Aerith didn't tell him was that home was with him. Instead, she thanked him and let him walk her four houses down, their shoulders brushing as they walked and shivered in the freezing morning air.

"It's going to be so much easier to come visit you," Zack grinned through chattering teeth. "You're much closer now."

"I guess that's the advantage of living in a small town," Aerith smiled.

"I'll miss sneaking off to the slums to see you, though. It was kind of like an adventure," he chuckled. "Oh, hey...what about your church? Your flowers?"

Aerith shrugged, rubbing her hands together. That was the one thing she'd been truly sorry to leave behind. "They'll just have to do without me, I guess. And I can keep growing flowers here in the spring and summer."

"Yeah, that'll be good," Zack agreed. "We'll have to find someplace that's just ours again, though. What do you think, we could make that old creepy mansion our new hiding spot."

Aerith shuddered, and not just from the cold. "Eurgh. No thanks. You sent me that picture once, remember? I swear there was someone in the window. Like a vampire or something."

That made Zack laugh out loud. "You've got an overactive imagination."

"Yeah right, look who's talking," she said with mild indignation. "Or don't you recall all those adventures you made me go on with you?"

Zack snorted. "I was a hero. What can I say?"

"You were something, alright. Well," she said slowly, reluctant to leave. "This is me."

"Mmm...kay," Zack said, stomping his feet in the snow. "Well, get inside before you turn into an Aerithsicle. I don't generally like my best friends to be frozen."

"I think I have to agree with you there," Aerith said. She was now shivering so much it was starting to make her muscles ache.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Zack said, giving her arm a squeeze. "I'm really glad you're here, Aerith." The smile he gave her was enough to warm her insides so that she barely noticed the cold anymore.

"Me too," she said fervently, wishing he would stoop down and kiss her and hold her...but he didn't. He just waved and scrambled off, probably eager to dive back under his covers and go to sleep. With a sigh, she let herself into the new house, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Good morning."

Aerith squeaked in surprise, wincing guiltily at her mom.

"Er...hello. Good morning."

"How is Zack?"

"Look, Mom, we were just talking and I fell asleep, and I'm really sorry I didn't come home-" Aerith started to blurt, but her mom just smiled and held up her hand.

"Honey, it's okay. I know you didn't do anything, and you're not in trouble."

Aerith breathed in relief. "Oh." She blinked, then frowned a little. Did her mom have to be _so sure_ that nothing happened? Was the idea so unbelievable?

"You're frowning. Would you prefer to be in trouble?" her mom asked, sounding amused and slightly confused.

"No," Aerith said quickly. "Just...something _could _have happened," she mumbled a little sulkily.

"It could have, yes, but I trust you enough to know that it didn't. It wasn't an issue of whether Zack was interested, sweetie," her mom said, interpreting her discontent correctly. "It was a matter of me knowing you, and knowing that you wouldn't do anything you weren't ready for."

"Oh," Aerith said again. "Right."

Her mom rose from the table, pushing aside a box on the floor with her foot. "So, when should I expect Zack to come over?" she asked knowingly.

"In a few hours, more or less. He said he'd help us unpack."  
>"Thank goodness. He can do the heavy lifting," she joked. Aerith smiled, stepping forward and hugging her mom.<p>

"This really is the best Christmas present. Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie," her mom whispered, pressing a kiss on her temple.

* * *

><p>They'd been talking when she'd dozed right off. Aerith had been mumbling something about how long the flight to Nibelheim had been, and she'd dropped off mid-sentence. He'd looked over to question her, and realized she'd fallen fast asleep. Zack had also known that he should probably wake her up and send her home, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. She'd looked so peaceful, and the truth of it was that he wanted her to stay. So, he'd carefully untied her shoes and pulled them off, and threw a spare blanket over her. After turning off the light, he'd laid down beside her, head propped up on his elbow, and watched her sleep. Thinking back on it, Zack realized that could have been seen as somewhat creepy, but he hadn't been able to stop himself. And while he watched her, an odd feeling had come over him. Something like protectiveness mixed with tenderness...and affection...and the next thing he'd known, Aerith was shaking him, waking him up. When he'd finally realized what was happening, the craziest idea crossed his mind – that he wouldn't mind waking up to her everyday, only maybe with less panic at being caught and needing to leave, and more snuggling.<p>

He'd decided he was still a bit too groggy from sleep to be thinking clearly and dismissed his craziness, offering instead to walk her home, hoping the cold would snap him out of it. But when he'd left her at her door, he wanted to do anything but walk away. What he really wanted to do scared and confused the hell out of him, and so he'd made himself walk away and go back home.

As he lay in his bed, trying to fall back to asleep, his thoughts whirled. Sleep would not come back to him. So he tried to think about how to get Cloud and Tifa to confess to their not-so-secret relationship with mission mistletoe, but his plan turned into dizzy daydreams of him and Aerith under the mistletoe instead. It was all Cloud's fault too, for bringing up the whole 'dating Aerith' thing so many days ago, and now it was only fueled by Aerith's presence. And the way she smelled, and moved, and laughed, and smiled. Not to mention how his heart raced when she'd brush against him accidentally, or touch his arm as they shared an inside joke. Add to that the way he loved the subtle arch of her eyebrow, the shape of her nose, the curve of her mouth, and especially the bright green of her eyes.

No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he was visited repeatedly by one certain fact: he was in love with his best friend.

He was in love with Aerith.

The confusing part of it was that he'd never realized it before.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: :DDD! I'm telling you people, new music is always my muse. Just started listening to Mariana's Trench, looooove it. Music always inspires me to write. Yay! And more yay, Zack finally sees the light! Two more chapters to go, I decided. -gurgle- -twitch- I'm SO EXCITED. Even though I know what happens...kind of. Sometimes my characters change on me in the middle of things. This chapter had about 4 other endings planned, and then this one was born.**

**Pleeeease reviiiiiewww my lovelies. P.S. I've had a lot of Dr Pepper, so ignore my insanity. Also, I highly suggest you guys check out the songs I post the lyrics to. They're usually the inspiration for my chapters. **


	12. Cross My Heart

**Chapter 12: Cross My Heart**

_Take me with you, I start to miss you  
><em>_Take me home, I don't wanna be alone tonight  
><em>_And I do want to show you I  
><em>_Will run to you, to you till I  
><em>_Can't stand on my own anymore  
>I c<em>_ross my heart and hope to die_

**Marianas Trench –_ Cross My Heart_**

* * *

><p>The cereal he'd made for himself (well, poured, really) was now a bowl of soggy mush. He'd been staring at it for Gaia knows how long, lost in his thoughts. There were several things that seemed to make perfect sense now.<p>

Like the uncomfortable feeling he'd had when Aerith had gone on that date with Johnny. He'd been _jealous_ and he hadn't even recognized it. Or how all his girlfriends had broken up with him. Zack had never understood how they could be so sad about it, but still end things. But they'd seen it before he had. He wondered when Cissnei had seen it, or if she'd known all along and had just been trying to make it work. He understood now that he and Cissnei had been doomed from the start.

Had everyone known before him?

_Only because you didn't want to admit it, _he thought to himself, stirring his mush around thoughtfully. He'd been so intent on maintaining his friendship with Aerith, he'd never really stopped to consider what they could really be.

But it had always been there, even when he'd refused to acknowledge it. While he often disregarded what other people thought of him, he always cared what Aerith thought. He always worried about her, always wanted to be with her, and always felt terrible when he let her down. And just like Cissnei had told him, he'd always been rushing off to save her, too.

"You're having oatmeal?" his dad asked as he sat down at the table with a cup of coffee.

"Huh?" Zack blinked down at his cereal. "Uh, no, cereal actually. Or at least it_ used _to be cereal," he commented, plopping his spoon into the bowl.

"I see. You seem to have a lot on your mind this morning," his dad said as he buttered some toast.

"I'm just...realizing some things, I guess..."

His dad just hummed to let him know he was listening, crunching into his toast. His dad never asked too many questions, unlike his mom. Zack's dad would usually just wait for Zack to explain if he wanted to.

"Can I ask you something, Dad?" Zack began slowly.

"Sure thing. Fire away."

"Did you ever think about somebody one way and think things would always be that way, only to figure out that you feel...differently about them later on?"

"Sure. People change all the time, it's only natural that our feelings change, too."

"Okay. So say you want to tell this person that you feel, uh, different. How do you do that without...I don't know, ruining things?"

His dad didn't say anything at first, instead finishing the piece of toast he'd been eating. He took a gulp of coffee, then set his mug down, looking contemplative.

"Is this about Aerith, Zack?"

He felt his face heat up, but hoped his cheeks weren't as red as they felt. "What?" he spluttered unconvincingly. "Why would you think...totally hypothetical..."

His dad chuckled knowingly. "Because, whenever anything is bothering you, it's always to do with Aerith. Your mother told me she'd moved here. You saw her last night, right?"

Zack puffed up his cheeks, then exhaled steadily. "Yeah, she's here. And, well...yeah, it's about her."

"So what's changed that you feel you need to tell her?" he asked, sipping more coffee.

"I think I'm...I mean, I _know_...ugh," Zack slammed his head against the kitchen table, which didn't really make him feel any better.

He felt his dad's hand on his shoulder, and he twisted his head to the side to peer up at him. His dad was smiling oddly.

"Trust your instincts, Zack. They've always been good."

His dad got up and left him with his irredeemable breakfast and jumbled thoughts. Follow his instincts? By the Ancients, what was he, some sort of animal? He had to tell her, though. He just hoped he wouldn't ruin their friendship.

* * *

><p>Zack's plan had been fairly straightforward, so much so, it probably couldn't be considered a plan at all. More like a course of action. Or just jumping in blindly and hoping he wouldn't drown.<p>

The gist of it was that he'd help Aerith and her mom unpack, hang up some festive mistletoe, tell her how he felt and (hopefully) kiss her. Kiss Aerith, that is, not her mom.

Maybe he should have come up with a more detailed plan, though, or at least a backup scheme, because all he really managed to do was gape and make strangled noises at Aerith while his palms got sweaty. That had naturally caused her to ask him multiple times if he was alright.

It happened again when he was admiring the shape of her legs (and a few of her other assets, to be honest – he _was_ a guy). She had been saying something to him, but had trailed off when she saw he was staring.

"Okay, seriously," Aerith said as she set a half empty box down. "Are you sure you're okay? You're so quiet."

"Er...sorry, I..." he struggled to come up with a good excuse for why he'd been checking her out. Had she noticed?

"I guess I kept you up too long last night," she said with a breezy laugh. Zack clapped his hands over his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to black out the myriad of images that had arisen in his mind. None of them were as innocent as the talking they had actually done.

"...Zack?"

"Ack, er, just dust...in both my eyes," he garbled lamely.

"Right," she told him, clearly unconvinced.

"Let's hang mistletoe," Zack proclaimed hastily. "We should decorate while we're unpacking."

Aerith's mouth twisted to the side. Gaia, her lips..._Snap out of it, Zack!_ "You know, I don't like mistletoe, personally," she said. "It's a parasite, and sometimes it kills the trees it grows on."

"A poop stick and a parasite, huh? What exactly were people thinking when they made a tradition of kissing underneath it?" Zack asked, glad that he could mention kissing without fumbling it up. He was good. It was cool. He had this.

"Actually, there are a couple of different theories about where the tradition..." she hesitated, smiling sheepishly. "That was rhetorical, wasn't it?"

Ancients save him, she was adorable. It was making him lose his cool all over again. "Kind of," he laughed, and she tucked her hair behind her ear, suppressing a smile. How had that simple action become so much more appealing to him?

On the downside, no mistletoe meant no excuse to kiss Aerith.

"...still help you hang mistletoe for Cloud and Tifa," she was saying.

"What? Oh, right. Let's just forget it. They'll figure it out eventually."

"Zack Fair, giving up on a project?" Aerith asked in shock. "Okay, who are you and where's the real Zack?"

"Something more important came up," Zack shrugged, licking his dry lips nervously.

"Ooh, really?" Aerith asked excitedly, opening another box, this one filled with books. "What is it? Do you want me to help?"

"Gah, er," Zack gurgled. Honestly, what was wrong with him? He had years of practice flirting with girls; he'd certainly never been speechless. This should have been easy. He knew Aerith, all about her, what she did and didn't like, but...

He'd never been in love with the girl he was trying to flirt with. He'd never been so terrified of messing up in his life.

"Actually," he said, finally finding his voice again. "It's kind of a solo things."

"Oh. Okay." She sounded a little disappointed, but she kept putting her books away carefully.

"Look, it's not that I want to exclude you," he started, feeling a twinge of guilt. "I just need to figure out how to do this first. Then you can help. I hope," he said hastily.

She brightened. "Alright. In that case, good luck figuring out...whatever it is," she smiled.

Zack's heart thumped in response, and he breathed silently with relief. For all his determination to tell Aerith how he felt, he just wasn't sure how to do it yet. Which was why he knew he had to interrogate the master of never-saying-how-he-felt, Cloud, who had somehow managed to pluck up the courage to kiss Tifa. There had to be something he'd said or done, right?

* * *

><p>"Me? I didn't do anything," Cloud muttered, his face growing pinker.<p>

"You had to do something," Zack exclaimed exasperatedly.

"No," Cloud insisted. "Tifa invited me over. She kissed me."

"So you somehow got her to kiss you by being a useless, mute lump?"

"Hey!" Cloud cried indignantly.

"Sorry, a grumpy, mute lump. You're not useless," Zack amended. He frowned. "That's not going to work, though."

"What are you talking about?" Cloud grumbled, still offended by Zack's comment. "It _did_ work."

"Uh, right, congrats, Cloud. I have to go talk with Tifa now," he said distractedly, leaving behind a mildly confused and miffed friend.

Zack felt a bit bad for what he'd said, or at least how he'd worded it, but he'd make it up to Cloud later. Presently, he had something much more important to figure out, and he hoped Tifa had the answer.

Tifa was in her backyard, practicing her martial arts, despite the freezing weather. Zack had to admire her dedication. Unfortunately, her dedication almost karate chopped him in the throat.

"Argh, I come in peace!" Zack yelled, flailing his arms as he fought to regain his balance after having narrowly dodged her attack.

"Oops!" Tifa snatched his shoulders and righted him once more. "Sorry."

"It's all good. I've still got my head. But uh, good form."

She bounced on the balls of her feet, huffing. "What's up?"

"Do you have a moment?"

"Yeah, but let's go inside so I don't catch a chill," she said, shivering slightly now that she'd stopped moving.

Zack followed Tifa inside, kicking his shoes off at the back door, wriggling his toes while wishing he'd worn thicker socks. Nibelheim really did have cold winters.

Tifa's dad looked up from the T.V., giving Zack a short nod. Tifa's dad was...a man of few words. Tifa said it as because her mom had died when she was younger – ever since, her dad had been really quiet. Zack also got the impression that her dad didn't think much of his daughter having two boys as her best friends, but Tifa never let it bother her. Tifa loved her dad, she just thought he was a bit old fashioned – at least, that's what she'd told him and Cloud.

Zack waved back with a grin, then followed Tifa up to her room. Zack could feel Tifa's dad watching him the whole way, undoubtedly making sure the door stayed open. Zack also got the feeling that her dad didn't trust him or Cloud particularly much.

"So, you and Cloud, huh?"

Tifa blushed. "That's what you wanted to talk about?"

"Kind of. In a way," he shrugged. "How'd it happen? Cloud told me you invited him over."

"I did," she said shortly, pulling off her gloves.

"...And?"

"And we..." she trailed off, mumbling incoherently.

"You pissed?" he guessed, laughing.

"Zack!" she puffed at him.

"Why are you so embarrassed? You kissed him. Isn't that what you've wanted?"

"Yes," Tifa admitted, sighing. "I thought...but he hasn't talked to me since. I...I think I messed up," she told him miserably, rubbing her nose, which was still red from the cold.

"What? No, you didn't. C'mon, you know Cloud. He's...he's painfully stoic. Brick walls are easier to read than him."

"Exactly. So how can I tell if he liked it or hated it?"

Zack tried not to laugh, considering he was having similar doubts about a certain someone. "He liked it. He likes you."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause if he didn't, he'd probably pick a fight with you. He'd lose, but still. That, or he'd ignore you completely, just like he does with about half the school."

"...you think?" Zack had to smile at this. It amazed him that someone like Tifa could be so uncertain at times.

"Yeah, Cloud would totally lose in a fight against you," he said, pretending to misunderstand again.

"No," she laughed. "About Cloud liking me."

"Oh, right. Of course. He wasn't exactly running away the other night. Well, until I showed up," he amended. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I'm actually a little glad. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to him after it happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Umm...well, I just sort of kissed him."

"You didn't even give him a preamble? Just went straight to the smoochies?"

"Er, yes, I guess," Tifa blushed again. "I think I took him by surprise, actually."

"Hmm...do you think that works?" Zack asked keenly.

"I don't know. That's kind of what I'm wondering, remember?"

But Zack was gone, his head off in daydream land once more. He was knocking on Aerith's door, and she answered, looking confused, but pleasantly surprised to see him.

"Zack what are you doing here? I thought I was seeing you later..."

But instead of answering, he leaned down and kissed her until she swooned. When he finally makes himself pull away, she stares up at him breathlessly, then whispers his name.

"Oh, Zack..." Smiling down at her, he cupped her face, brushing his thumb along her jaw.

"Aerith..."

"What? Zack, it's Tifa. Planet to Zack!"

With a start, Zack jerked back to reality, flushing. "I'm fine! I was just thinking...Aerith could, uh, help us out."

"She seems really nice, but I'm not letting her kiss Cloud to test our theory," Tifa said flatly.

Unbidden, the image of Cloud and Aerith kissing arose in his mind, and jealousy flared alongside, coupled with a strong desire to punch Cloud in the face. He really had to get his imagination under control.

"No," he agreed hoarsely. "No way! That wasn't what I was saying."

"So what are you saying?"

Zack shook his head. He had no idea. "Erm. Look, I don't know. She could interrogate him. From a distance. Where no kissing can occur. Not that she would, because he's completely _wrong_ for her! And, uh, cause he likes you and stuff," Zack rambled.

Tifa narrowed her eyes for a moment, then smiled wickedly. "You seem oddly possessive, Zack."

"Pfft! I'm just looking out for you guys. I mean, her and Cloud? Preposterous. You and Cloud make sense, but definitely, _definitely_ not Aerith with Cloud," he continued, flustered. By Sephiroth's satin undies, why couldn't he shut up? Also, it was very presumptuous of him to assume that the Great Sephiroth wore satin underwear. Maybe he was a simple cotton man. It _was_ the fabric of their lives. Zack had to refocus: Tifa was talking again.

"Oh my god, you totally like her! I knew you were putting up a front with all this 'just friends' crap!" Tifa crowed gleefully.

"It wasn't a front!" Zack defended heatedly. "I_ just_ realized...that's all. I wasn't expecting...ugh, I'm hopeless," Zack groaned. Tifa laughed and patted his hand consolingly. "How do I tell her without ruining things?" he asked with a pained expression. "I don't think she feels the same."

"Well, I only just met her, so I can't say for sure that she reciprocates your feelings, but...she's been your best friend for ten years. She deserved the truth, and you owe it to yourself, too. It's...well, freeing, I guess. Don't waste your time waiting and wondering."

"I get the feeling you're referring to more than just my situation here. That, or you've somehow managed to give a lot of thought to something you've only just now learned about."

Tifa shrugged, smiling halfheartedly. "I suppose what I said is...somewhat applicable to me."

"And if by 'somewhat' you mean 'completely', then yes," Zack agreed.

She huffed at him again. "Well, at least Cloud knows I like him now. Meanwhile, you haven't mustered the courage to tell Aerith!" she said, shoving his shoulder.

"It's not about courage, here," he protested. "I've got plenty of courage. It's the fact that I lose all ability to speak normally. I just sort of...gurgle at her." Zack made a noise of disgust. "This is so wrong. I've always been good with girls. Not that I'm bragging -"

"You are," Tifa snorted.

"- but now I've been transformed into a gibbering fool. Aerith's just...she's really..." he sighed. "See? I can't even come up with the words. I think about her now, and all my insides turn to mush and my thoughts go bye-bye. All I know is I want to...I want to keep her. Gosh, that sounds creepy."

"Aww," Tifa cooed. "You've got it bad, Zack. But it's so cute," she gushed, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm really happy for you."

"Right," he pumped his fist, his jaw set with determination. "I'll tell her tonight at the Christmas party. And it'll be the best Christmas ever. Or...you know, the worst," he frowned.

"You could hang some mistletoe, couldn't you?" Tifa suggested. Zack groaned and threw his hands up in the air, upsetting Tifa's hold on him.

"No! She doesn't like mistletoe, they're parasitic dung sticks!"

"Oh...right. I think you need to take a little rest, Zack."

"I'm fine," he insisted, standing up abruptly so that Tifa fell back on to her bed. "I'll just give Aerith her present and then I'll tell her."

"Sounds good," Tifa said warily, like she was worried about his sanity.

Honestly, he was a little worried, too.

* * *

><p>Zack's palms were sweaty again when he went to answer the door. He'd spent most of the afternoon practicing what he was going to say. Maybe the practice would keep him from turning into a blabbering idiot. On the other hand, his practice hadn't been very intelligent conversation, as he could only think of incredibly stupid things to say, like, "Here's your present, Aerith. By the way, I'm in love with you. Call me."<p>

Which was _stupid_.

He tried to smooth back his hair, which didn't work, and he wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans before opening the door. It was Cloud and Tifa, both arm in arm, and looking considerably happier than they had hours earlier. Apparently they'd talked. Or maybe they'd just made out some more.

"Oh, it's you," Zack blurted, feeling both relief and disappointment.

"Try not to be too excited," Cloud muttered. Tifa just smiled conspiratorially; it looked like she hadn't told Cloud about their earlier conversation, for which Zack was somewhat grateful. Cloud would definitely relish the opportunity to rib him back.

"Dinner smells good," Tifa commented as she unwrapped her scarf.

"Yeah, Mom makes wicked Christmas turkey. I've already had three rolls, too," Zack said, grinning. Sometimes he was a nervous eater. Also, his mom's rolls were delicious, so it was a win-win, really. He had two more rolls while he was waiting (Cloud and Tifa had one as well, while his mom scolded him that he was going to spoil his appetite) when the doorbell rang again, and his stomach squirmed, making him wish he hadn't just stuffed his face with bread.

"I'll get it," he said, barreling past Cloud, who would have fallen over if Tifa hadn't caught him.

He flung the door open, and his stomach flopped again at the sight of her, a light dusting of snow covering her. She smiled up at him, and his heart started to flail around in his chest like a fish out of water that couldn't breathe.

That seemed apt, because it was how he felt, too. With the not being able to breathe, that is. He hadn't gotten the sudden urge to flail around on the ground. Not yet, anyway.

"Merry Christmas," she said, her mom echoing the sentiment.

"Hey," Zack managed to say, swallowing heavily.

"Can we come in?" Aerith asked, sounding amused. They were still standing in the doorway, looking expectantly inside.

"Right! Yeah, come in. Merry Christmas. Mom's making turkey. I just had five rolls."

Shit, he was rambling again.

"Five? Are you nervous about something?" Aerith asked with a laugh, hanging up her coat. Crap, she knew him too well!

"Just wondering if you'll like my present for you," he lied. Well, he did wonder a little, but that wasn't why he was nervous. Was she wearing lip gloss? Her lips looked all shiny and tantalizing. In an effort to distract himself, he thrust a roll into Aerith's hand and took hastily stuffed his mouth with another of his own. Great googly moogly, his stomach was going to explode before the night was over.

She giggled, nibbling the roll. "Thanks," she said. Zack had the strongest desire to be the roll she was eating. Was it so much to ask to be nibbled?

He stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth. "Er elcomph," he said to her.

"What did he just say?" Cloud asked, raising a brow.

"He said, 'Your welcome,'" Aerith grinned. "I'm an expert at translating for Zack when he's got food in his mouth," she informed them, placing a hand on Zack's arm. His stomach swooped, and he almost choked on the roll. Did love make all people so stupid?

"Zack, help me set the table," his mom called, and he dashed into the dining room, glad for the distraction so he could recollect his thoughts. But then Aerith was there, setting plates down alongside him.

"I'll help," she said with another one of her smiles. He fixated on her lips again.

"Are you wearing lip gloss?" he blurted.

She blinked at him, clearly surprised by his sudden question. "No. Chapstick. Why?"

"Uh. Just wondering," he said. "Your mouth was...shiny."

Before she could say anything to that intelligent (not) observation, everybody else came into the kitchen, carrying assorted pans and trays full of food.

"Let's eat!" his dad said as he set the turkey down.

Aerith just gave him an odd look as they sat down. He hoped she wasn't thinking, _Ew, stop looking at my mouth._

After what felt like a very long dinner, filled with plenty of laughter, and few awkward moments where Cloud and Tifa inadvertently played footsie with him instead of each other, and so much food he could probably go into a coma, they gathered around the Christmas tree to exchange presents. Cloud and Tifa happened to exchange goo-goo eyes as well as gifts, which Zack supposed was kind of nice, as well as sort of sickening, but he wasn't paying much attention. As long as they didn't try playing footsie with him again, he was good.

"Here you go, Zack," Aerith said, handing him a small bag. "I'm sorry I didn't wrap it. I ran out of time," she said with a shrug. He opened the bag and peered inside, grinning.

"Goofballs!" he cheered.

"Yeah. Since I didn't buy anything, I made these...although, I don't know if you should eat anything else tonight. You might explode."

A goofball was already halfway to his mouth by the time she said this. He paused, thought about it for a moment, then ate it anyway.

"Too good not to eat," he explained through a mouthful of marshmallow, and she laughed, leaning into him. Her hair smelled so good, he thought as he tried to inhale the scent surreptitiously. He swallowed the sweet confection, then reached for her present.

"Here, this one's for you," he said, his hands becoming a little sweaty again. He had planned to tell her how he felt right after she opened it, but he was suddenly very aware of all the people in the room. Did he really want to tell her as well as everybody else all at once?

"Oh wow! A phone," Aerith gasped as she ripped the wrapping paper off.

"Uh, yeah, cause sometimes you weren't at home when I called, so I figured...we could reach each other this way...now you're here, so, that's kind of moot, but-"

"No, no, it's great," she beamed. "But now I feel really bad I didn't buy anything," she said with a pout.

"It's okay. You made me goofballs. And you're here. What more could I ask for?" he asked, his stomach fluttering.

"How did you even afford this?" Aerith asked, studying the box, not realizing at all that he was all in knots because of her.

"Lots of shoveling," he said. "But...worth it," he shrugged. She gave him this look, like she couldn't believe how sweet he was (well, that or she thought he was being incredibly cheesy again) and his chest tightened up with longing.

"I think I'll go grab a trash bag from the kitchen for all this paper," Aerith said suddenly, rising abruptly from her spot next to him.

"Thanks sweetie," his mom said to Aerith. Zack watched as Aerith disappeared into the kitchen, mesmerized by the way her hips swayed. Had they always done that? After a moment, he rose too, muttering lamely something about showing Aerith where the trash bags were.

She heard him enter the kitchen, turning to look at him. "Oh good, I realized after I got in here that I didn't actually know where you keep the trash bags," she said with embarrassment.

"Under the sink," Zack said, striding over and leaning down to the cupboard to grab one for her. He handed it out to her, his heart hammering in his chest as her hand touched his. "Here."

"Thanks," she said, and she shifted her weight between her feet for a moment, watching him uncertainly.

"Zack," she started, then stopped, biting her lip. "You seem kind of..."

"Wait," he interrupted her, stepping closer. "Aerith, I..." she was searching his face, looking up at him questioningly.

"You...?"

"I...I..." the words were lodged in his throat. He was never good with words – action was so much more his comfort zone. So he did the only thing he could. He leaned down and kissed her.

Then she did the only thing she could. She ran away.

* * *

><p>Zack had been acting oddly all day, but the weirdness came full circle when she arrived at his house for the Christmas party. He was rambling and stuffing his face on and off, which he only did when he was really nervous about something. She just didn't understand what he was so nervous about.<p>

And he kept watching her. Well, staring, really. She wondered on more than one occasion if she had something on her face or if her hair was messed up.

She tried to just ignore it and act normal around him. Then he went and asked her if she was wearing lip gloss, which caught her off guard. She'd worn chapstick plenty of times, and he'd never questioned it before. She wondered why he suddenly seemed so interested. Did that mean he was looking at her lips? Before she could ask him about it, of course, everyone else came into the dining room, effectively destroying the moment.

Dinner was delicious, but she was distracted by the way Zack kept shooting glances at her, lips quirking up into little half smiles when she'd say something, or laughing loudly at things that weren't that funny. Yes, he was definitely acting odd.

He wasn't the only one looking at her, though. Tifa kept looking between the two of them and smiling, occasionally shaking her head with a laugh. Did she know something? Aerith almost wanted to take the other girl aside and ask her what was going on with Zack.

The opportunity never presented itself, though, because right after dinner everybody moved to the living room to open gifts. She was a little nervous, but only because Zack's nervousness was making her feel the same. She wondered what he could have gotten for her that was making him act so antsy.

She was surprised and touched when she finally opened it. Her very own phone. He would have known that she couldn't afford to buy her own, and it was sweet that he wanted to be able to reach her all the time. Of course, he couldnt' have afforded it, either. He didn't have a job.

"How did you afford this?" she asked him. When he told her, she couldn't help but wonder at his thoughtfulness. _I'm worth it,_ she thought happily to herself. She wanted to kiss him right there. _You're worth it because you're best friends,_ she reminded herself, eyes casting about for an excuse to leave. Wrapping paper was everywhere, strewn across the floor.

She excused herself to get a trash bag for the garbage, not even thinking that she didn't know where the trash bags were in the new house. Once she got to the kitchen, she stood stupidly for a moment, just looking at all the cupboards. On the one hand, she could just go back and ask, but she was feeling foolish as it was. On the other, she could just snoop around the cupboards until she found them. Yes, that sounded slightly less embarrassing.

Before she got the chance to start searching, she heard Zack come up behind her, grinning like he knew she had no idea where they were. He got the bag for her from under the sink (duh, weren't trash bags _always_ under the sink?) and handed it to her, giving her a searching look with it.

She couldn't take it anymore. Aerith had to ask him what was going on.

"Zack," she said, then paused uncertainly, chewing on her lip as she tried to figure out how to ask him. "You seem kind of..."

"Wait," he interrupted her, and he stepped closer to her. Her breath hitched in her chest at his proximity. "Aerith, I..." he stopped now, looking uncertain as well, like had something important to say, but he wasn't sure how to say it.

"You...?"

"I...I..." he said, his voice barely a whisper now. His eyes were locked on hers, and then he seemed to come to a decision – it was just a look in his eyes. To her complete surprise, he leaned in and kissed her.

So naturally, she did the only thing she never thought she would do. She ran.

Aerith didn't even stop to grab her coat, she just flew out the front door, letting her feet take her further and further away from the one thing she'd always wanted. But she was confused, and her heart was pounding so painfully in her chest, she thought it might break through her ribs.

Her thoughts were a jumbled swirl in her mind as she tried to figure out what had just happened. Did he lose his footing? Had he had just a little too much eggnog? What was it? _Why _had he kissed her?

More importantly, why had she run?

"Aerith!" she heard Zack from behind her, his footsteps muffled in the snow. "Wait, I'm sorry!" he called, his voice cracking. She came to a halt, turning to face him as he stumbled up to her, panting. She'd run a surprisingly long way from his house already.

"I'm sorry," he said, face twisted up with remorse.

"Why?" she whispered, looking down at the ground. "Why did you kiss me, Zack?" She had to know – was it just something fleeting? Was he lost in the very romantic moment of trash bag passing?

"I...Aerith, I didn't mean to just kiss you like that," he said, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed. She closed her eyes tightly so she wouldn't cry. So it _was_ a mistake.

"Oh," she whispered, hoping she didn't sound as hurt as she felt.

"I meant...I meant to tell you first. I just really suck with words, you know," he rambled, his voice somewhat dampened by the roaring in her ears. "And you looked so...kissable, I guess," he said, scratching at his head. "But what I really wanted to say is...that I..." he swallowed, and Aerith looked up at him, jaw tight. He looked so vulnerable that it shook Aerith from her heartbreak for a moment.

"What?" she asked him softly.

"Aerith, I've always loved you. I mean, ever since that first day, I just knew I had to protect you. Only, I didn't realize that it became more than that, not until...well, yesterday. I guess I'm a little slow," he laughed nervously. "Look, I'm saying...I've always loved you, I just didn't realize that I've always been in love with you, too." His cheeks were red now, and from more than just the cold. He looked so earnest and scared and hopeful all at once, but she couldn't say anything. She was shocked.

He took a shaky breath. "So...I'm sorry I kissed you like that. I didn't mean to...I don't want to ruin things. I just wanted you to know, and I'll understand if you don't feel the same – mph!"

She covered his mouth with her hand, staring at him with wide eyes. She was still surprised, but the feeling was rapidly blossoming into warmth, exultant at his confession.

"Just shut up and kiss me again, you dummy," she whispered, smiling so hard her face hurt.

And he did.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I wish I had an emoticon to express how nerdy/excited I am about this chapter. I always think it's funny how these things evolve, because what I had originally planned never happened. The only thing I saved was the "I've always loved you, but I never realized I was in love with you" bit. Originally, this was going to be really different, but it just turned out into something so much better. And classically cliché. Love it! I had a super fun time writing this chapter, because I really love to turn the tables on characters. Zack's always so confident, it was fun to have him be at the other end of the spectrum.**

** One more chapter after this folks. I want to thank everyone who's read this, who's favorited it, and especially to everyone who's left a review. This is probably the fastest multi-chapter story I've ever completed, so I'm really proud there, and I'm also really pleased with the response I've received. You guys make me happier than I could probably put into words. Ffff. So excited. x3**


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_I've got a girl who swears that she is innocent  
><em>_When the night is young, she starts to make her move  
><em>_But the feeling I get from the taste of her lips  
><em>_And her head on my chest, my hands start shaking  
><em>_So make your move!  
><em>_She's sugar sweet, she's all that I need_

**Sing It Loud – _Sugar Sweet_**

* * *

><p>"...and then you kissed her?"<p>

"Yes," Zack smiled, glancing over at Aerith. They shared a look, but it didn't last long as the seven year old girl at his lap sighed.

"That's so romantic."

"Well, I'm a romantic guy," Zack said, and Aerith snorted, trying unsuccessfully to conceal as a cough.

"I am!" Zack protested.

"Yeah, he is," the little girl insisted. "Did you guys get married after that?" she inquired with wide green-blue eyes. They seemed to change depending on her mood. At the moment, they were more green than blue.

"Well, not right away," Aerith said with a laugh. "It was a couple of years before he proposed. He was more nervous about that than when he told me he loved me," she teased Zack gently.

"I wasn't," he said indignantly. "I knew you'd say yes. You can't resist me," he said with a winsome smile.

She laughed again. "I forgot confidence looked like nervous sweats and throwing up in the bushes."

"Eww," the little girl wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Zack just shrugged. "You still said yes."

"Well, I kind of liked you, I guess. Plus, you looked so scared, I would have hurt your feelings if I'd said no," Aerith said.

"Whatever!" Zack scoffed, grabbing Aerith around the waist and tugging her toward him. She shrieked and put up a weak fight, but then settled onto his lap, shoulders shaking with laughter. He kissed her soundly on the mouth, eliciting another 'ew' from the seven year old.

"Skylar, first you think it's romantic, now you think it's gross?" he asked, amused.

"It's only romantic in _stories_," she informed him with extra emphasis on 'stories'. "Not in real life."

"It was real life!"

Skylar just mimicked Zack with a shrug of her shoulders. "But now you're old," she giggled.

He made a grab for Skylar, and she squealed, jumping out of his reach. Aerith hopped out of his lap so she wouldn't fall off in his attempt to reach the girl.

"Mom! Stop him!"

"Zack," Aerith chided. "Leave our daughter alone."

"No way, she called me old!" Zack lunged for her again, snatching her arm and pulling her closer.

"Noo!" Skylar yelled, laughing so hard her face was turning red. "Mom!"

"You did call us old," Aerith said with a sly grin.

"Tickle attack!" Zack announced, and unmercifully tickled Skylar's belly. She squirmed and flailed, laughing uncontrollably.

"Pl-please stop, Daddy! I'm sorry!" she gasped, pushing his hands away.

"I'll let it go this time," he said, but wiggled his fingers in warning. The doorbell rang, and Skylar rocketed off his lap and raced to the door to answer it, her dark, curly hair flying behind her.

"Payton!" she shouted. "You gotta help m, my Dad's trying to tickle me to death!"

Zack peered at the door, where his daughter was hiding behind a boy barely taller than her. He was the spitting image of Cloud, except for the dark hair he'd inherited from his mom. Zack wasn't sure how many more times he could listen to his daughter go on about Payton's blue eyes. Aerith assured him repeatedly that it was just an innocent crush, but Zack didn't like it much. Skylar was way too young to have a crush!

"Erm, Mr. Fair, you shouldn't tickle Skylar to death," Payton stammered, looking quietly determined.

"Well, if you say so," Zack sighed dramatically.

Skylar beamed. "Thanks, Payton!" she gushed, then kissed him squarely on the cheek. The poor kid just looked confused, but then Skylar dragged him off to play outside.

"She is just like you," Aerith shook her head, clucking her tongue.

"Nu-uh," he shook his head back at her. "She's you. I never had a crush when I was seven."

"Because you were a boy," she chuckled. "She's got your personality – she's far too charming for her own good."

"Well, that's why you love me, right?" he grinned cheekily, taking his beautiful wife's hand, pressing his lips against her knuckle.

"One of the many reasons," she agreed, leaning over and kissing him sweetly.

Zack waggled his eyebrows at her as she pulled away, smiling at her lasciviously. "How about we go play, too?"

Aerith gave a snort of laughter, narrowing her green eyes at him and pressing her lips together as she considered his proposal.

"Hmm. Well, best friends _do_ have the best fun," she said, the look in her eyes full of promise.

"Oh yeah? Is that a guarantee?" he asked.

"Pinky swear," she said, holding out her pinky for him. He linked with her and gave a quick shake, then with a playful growl, pulled her against him.

"Where to this time?" she asked, her voice a bit husky.

"Not Modeoheim...as much fun as that was," he chortled. There was something very appealing about snuggling together for warmth. That was how Skylar came to be, at any rate. "I'm thinking...Costa de Sol. And you don't get to wear a one piece this time," he told her seriously. Not that it would really matter what they were wearing when it came down to it.

"If you insist," she agreed, smiling a sultry little smile he hadn't learned she'd had until they'd gotten married.

"I do," he reiterated, then swept her up into his arms. She gave a small squeak, then linked her arms around his neck as he carried her off for yet another adventure.

He had no doubts it would be a good one; they were best friends, after all, and they always would be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hnngh. The end! This was so sweet that I think I gave myself diabetes, or at least induced some sort of sugar coma. And then it got a little saucy at the end, but hey, they're all grown up and married now, so it's perfectly acceptable. Plus, I just wanted to write it. :B**

** Thanks again to EVERYONE who's followed this and reviewed and like, and even to those of you who just peeked at it and never thought of it again. (x **

** I've got another plot bunny brewing (or are there two plot bunnies mating, making multiple plot bunny babies...?) but I know I've got to finish these other stories, so I'll hold off. But for any of you wondering, it has to do with the one-shot I just posted, Already Lost. **

** Leave a review, my lovelies. ;x**


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